Monday, March 19, 2007

The Anatomy of Peace
I finished a book by the Arbinger Institute last week called The Anatomy of Peace It discussed some of the same principles as Leadership and Self Deception, but focused more on the effects of treating others as objects- as tools to be used to accomplish our goals. I am sure that without knowing it- I have treated people like objects instead of people. The busier we are- the easier this is to do. It was a good reminder for me to
Make sure I am taking the time to treat everyone I meet as a person instead of an object.

Over the past few years I have noticed something that is sad to me. When I go to a hotel, I try to make it a point to talk to the ladies that are cleaning the rooms. A good majority of them are Hispanic or Black depending on where in America the hotel is located. I talk to these ladies as equals (because they are) and I can tell they are usually shocked that someone is acknowledging them. These are the kind of people I feel it is all too easy to treat like objects- a tool that happens to clean hotel rooms. There are people like this all around us- the lady that drives our kids home on the bus- or the retired man who works at the crosswalks to help our kids cross the street. Maybe we should do more to let these people know that what they do, really matters. It seems to be more a matter of our awareness and gratitude for the contribution of others than a lack of caring. At times we get just a little too busy to notice….