Gentleness is not a quality exclusive to women. - Helen Reddy

Our options for how we respond to the men and women in our lives are vast. Being critical is one option open to us. Indifference and gentleness are others. The way we treat others reveals our own state of being. When we feel at peace, we generally respond peacefully to others. Conversely, when we feel worthless and feel self-doubt. However, we can pull ourselves out of the self-imposed dungeon of despair. The method is this: In spite of personal feelings, be warm, kind and gentle in every personal exchange with another, and your own dark mood is sure to be lifted.

Again we are confronted with the reality that we make our world. Our treatment of others treats ourselves simultaneouly. Our friends and co-workers mirror the self we often think we're hiding away. A conscious decision will guarantee happiness we long for when the decision is to be gentle, loving, and caring toward all the people in our lives.

Our greatest happiness does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed us, but is always the result of a good conscience, good health, occupation, and freedom. - Thomas Jefferson

Opportunities abound each day of our lives for respectful, thoughtful actions toward others. It's within our power to any task securing our attention. Being concerned with our physical health and emotional well-being is also a choice. And we discover the level of happiness we attain in this life is in proportion to the considerate attention we give to others, to the personal needs, and to the activities occupying us.

The blessings we receive in this life are measurable by those we bestow upon the lives of those with whom we're traveling. There really are no surprises in store for us. We each must assume responsibility for our own happiness and good fortune; and there's no time like the present for opening our minds to this reality.

We sit at the controls today, and our perspective on the situations we experience will make them pleasant, productive, or problematic.