There have always been times in my life where I could have stepped up a bit more.
- When I didn’t, it felt pretty lousy.
Plenty of times I have had the opportunity to stand up to something and I let the moment slide by due to fear of confrontation. I have never been proud of that. Instead of simply retreating to my HVAC controlled nest, perhaps I should stand up a bit more often. Worrying about what people may think of you is never a good reason not to do the right thing. This is a lesson best learned early in ones life. However, whenever it comes to you to stand up, that is the time to do it. A recent family conflict was a great place for me to quit being passive. My mother in law lives by herself. My wife and I do our best to look after her but it’s not easy. We have a limited budget as we are both civil servants who don’t make a great deal of money. Mom needed an HVAC replacement in the worst way. Our combined money just wasn’t quite enough so we contacted her rich brother. We simply asked for him to match our collective funds in order to get Mom a new HVAC unit. He quickly informed us that he wasn’t in the business of saving everyone. From out of nowhere, I found a voice I wasn’t even certain that I had. The next thing I know I have launched into quite the diatribe. This calling our of my wife’s brother was really something. It also resulted in him doing the right thing by his mother. She is now comfortable with a reliable HVAC system.