What’s funny is, in writing this now, I’m on my fourth rewrite. Each time this ends up being several paragraphs too long, going on several tangents Family Guy-style and missing my own point. But if there was something I’d want to tell my younger self, it’s to take to heart a quote that I heard when I was younger. If you haven’t figured out by my handle, I’m a fan of anime, and one show that has stuck with me for the longest time is Neon Genesis Evangelion. In one episode, a new lead character is introduced and moves into the small apartment of the others, and like other stereotypical brash characters, she’s complaining, particularly of the thin Japanese-style sliding doors. The host of the apartment pops in to state, “The Japanese way is to consider the priorities and needs of others before one’s own,” meaning that the openness of the room is way to connect with everyone else. Spoiler, but in the end, it’s when she starts thinking about others that things ultimately start turning to the better for her, ultimately sacrificing her life for others.

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So, to make this short and sweet, take care of others first. Everyone says karma is a…well…negative thing, but it can also be good. Making sure that your friends and family are taken care of and that they have what they need should come before yourself. In the end, when you are the one that needs the help, well…good karma will have a way of coming back to you. And never EVER keep track of favors you’ve done for others. “The only time you should be looking at your neighbor’s bowl is to make sure that they have enough.”

Anonymous
  • Always put other's need before your own regardless of what they  need

  • It's a nice ideal but over the last 20 years the 'do gooders' have set us up to fail by teaching kids that they are special and the world revolves around them.  Now we are surrounded by millenials who are totally self centred and don't care about others (yes there are a few exceptions).  I try to live by "Treat others as you would want to be treated by them" but sometimes it is really difficult when you see a young fit person pushing an elderly person out of the way so they can get the last seat on the tube.  Funny how they soon give up the seat when a 6'4" hairy bloke with an Ulster accent tells them to behave.  That happens at least once a week. 

  • I moved house a year ago and my new neighbours are fantastic. They're always willing to have a chat or help out if needed (and vice versa). Just today I received an SMS about one of my dogs getting loose so they put them back in the yard and secured it so they couldn't escape again. I wouldn't hesitate to help them out when needed, not because of what they've done for me, but because kindness begets kindness.

  • As a military officer, that is job one.  take care of your soldiers first.