A moment to reflect

I have come to the frightening conclusion...
That I am the decisive element.
It is my personal approach that creates the climate.
It is my daily mood that makes the weather.
I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous.
I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration,
I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal.
In all situations, it is my response that decides
whether a crisis is escalated or de-escalated,
and a person is humanized or de-humanized.
If we treat people as they are, we make them worse.
If we treat people as they ought to be,
we help them become
what they are capable of becoming.
J.W.Goethe

A few weeks ago I found this poem on a friend's blog. I really liked it so I printed it off and left it by my computer to read periodically. This past Saturday was the adult session of our Stake conference. The Stake Primary President spoke and her topic was about loving children. She talked about what the climate in our homes were. Are they places that our children want to be? Her talk made me think of this poem, which as a mother, I have a lot of power in what the climate of our home is. It made me think a lot of what happens in our home and whether or not it's a happy place or a war zone.We have a two year old that is demonstrating her two year old personality to it's fullest capacity and I think I let that dictate our family climate by how I react. This was an "ahha" moment for me. I removed the poem from my computer room to my office, the kitchen, and posted it on the fridge so I can't miss it.I think I need a daily reminder. I just wanted to share this poem with others because I am sure that someone out there can relate and it's always good to take a moment to reflect.