Goethe taught, "Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should be and he will become as he can and should be."My sarcastic side notes this requires an opinion about how others can and should be. My realistic side notes that in some cases (manners, common sense) we tend expect others to act accordingly anyway - or at least we bitch mightily when they don't.
And from earlier in December:
Someone once inquired of a Far Eastern Zen master ... "How do you maintain that serenity and peace?" He replied, "I never leave my place of meditation." He meditated early in the morning and for the rest of the day, he carried the peace of those moments with him in his mind and heart.Happy new year :)-o-
Immersion in great literature or great music can provide a similar renewal of spirit for some. There are others who find it in the way they communicate with nature. Nature bequeaths its own blessing on those who immerse themselves in it.-o-
For a time, you're undisturbable, almost unflappable, until gradually the noise and discord from outside start to invade that sense of inner peace.