Paying it forward.

It doesn't matter what your job is, where you live or what your name is, ultimately every action you take affects your future and ripples out to the futures of those around you.

When we're working with the residents, our attitudes need to be kind, respectful and helpful. Not only because they deserve it. (After all, they've lost everything, all they have is our kindness, respect and help.) But because we're all just a car crash away from laying in one of those beds ourselves.

From Christianity:
"Do onto others as you would wish them do onto you."

From the Baha'i Faith:
"Ascribe not to any soul that which thou wouldst not have ascribed to thee, and say not that which thou doest not." "Blessed is he who preferreth his brother before himself." Baha'u'llah

From Buddhism:
Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful." Udana-Varga 5:18

From Hinduism:
This is the sum of duty: do not do to others what would cause pain if done to you. Mahabharata 5:1517

From Islam:
None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself." Number 13 of Imam "Al-Nawawi's Forty Hadiths."

From Judaism:
"What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man. This is the law: all the rest is commentary." Talmud, Shabbat 31a.

From Native American Spirituality:
"All things are our relatives; what we do to everything, we do to ourselves. All is really One." Black Elk

From Wicca:
"An it harm no one, do what thou wilt"

There's a reason that all the world's religions have a "Golden Rule". (There's obviously more religions than listed here. I pulled these from www.religioustolerance.org if you want to read more.) It's because we're all just paying it forward.