Where do your rights stop?
Yesterday, we went to Walmart to get a few things we need for our campsite. People were smoking cigarettes by the doors, so I had to walk past cigarette smoke to enter the store. When I entered the restroom, I noticed that someone had been smoking in there too. I am severely allergic to cigarette smoke, so these two events caused me to visit the Emergency Room last night. My head was hurting so badly, I could not even drink water and was throwing up, and I was too dizzy to walk unsupported. I had a severe migraine because of the activities of other people.
Smokers have rights, but so do nonsmokers!
When I was growing up, a retired man (Mr. T) and his wife lived behind our home. My siblings and I often sat and talked with them. One day during a discussion about where our rights stop and the rights of others begin, Mr. T told us that our rights stopped at the end of our noses. He sent us home to think about what it meant.
Mr. T simply meant that I do not have the right to do anything that makes an impact on others beyond my own personal space. I agree with Mr. T’s explanation of rights.
Each one of us has the right to make our own decisions about living our own lives. We all have free will and can decide to smoke or not smoke. No one should judge anyone else, because we do not have the right to judge others. I realize that smoking is an addiction and difficult to stop, but smokers do not have the right to impact the health of anyone else with their habit!
A wise person does not do anything that impacts anyone beyond his or her own personal space.
Please remember that your rights stop at your nose!
Let the encouraging words in these near a river posts help you
soar like an eagle above life’s storms.
Who are you really hurting?
What does every person need?
How does your past cause you to feel?
Do you know what the word “karma” means?