It is the art of empathy. It is a thought process, a thought of the impact of an action on the happiness of the other; altruism. For a place where getting water was difficult, Henry remained some water in the bathroom bucket and has gone out. Maybe he intends to use it when he returns from work. Therefore if I use it, I should replace it, that should be the thinking.
“Paul is my good neighbour, he is a nice fellow. I can use his oil until I buy mine even though there is a small quantity.” But the issue is, day after day you have not remembered to buy your own. So who is fooling whom? Do you know if his cash situation is such that he has no money to buy one immediately? The good thought here is; let me only inconvenience him as little as possible if I can’t avoid it.
The art is the pre-empting of the consequence of our action to the avoidance of our action causing anger or injury to others.
Consideration is about personal behaviour moderation:
“Is the music I am playing too loud or am I going to disturb the newborn baby next door?”
“Do my door hinges need oiling to reduce the noise of opening in the dead of the night?”
“Since we have only one toilet, am I not staying too long and such is making hell for someone with diarrhoea? “
“The quantity of milk I have taken from the tin, would it not deprive my teammates of having tea?”
The art is a demonstration of love, the love for your neighbour to a larger extent, the fear of God. If we fear God, then we would consider our actions in reference to the happiness or sadness of others. We would not take people’s feelings for granted. We would not take their things without their prior consent in other not to violate their rights.
We would handle people’s properties with added care in order not to cause third-party depression.
Humane thoughts for the art of consideration for others are;
“I come home when others have slept; will the noise I make not wake and disturb someone’s sleep?”
“If I drive my car too fast will I not splash water on others walking by the roadside?”
“If I spit on the road without cleaning it, will it not look disgusting to others?”
“If my child defecates on the pavement and I don’t pack it, will it not get into the feet of others?”
“If I am the first to get home and I fail to put on the light in the passage, will my action not cause injury to others coming later?”
“If my car gets spoilt in the middle of the road, would it not be civil to push it out of the way to let others pass or must I repair it on that spot?”
“Will blaring my horn out of fun not disturb other people who might be needing some quiet?”
“When I finish from the toilet and I do not flush it, would it not offend the senses of others?”
“When I sneeze and droplets of catarrh get to the ground, and I do not smother it with my feet to clean it, would it not stick to others’ feet?”
“If I litter the street, will the environment not be dirty for all of us?”