Channeling Fred...

I think for the time being  fun posts will not be frequent.  There is more than one side to me and I don't get to let it out as often as I would like. Just let me babble.  Pretend we are on a couch in a room filled with Thomas Kinkade paintings drinking tea... 

I have been learning more and more through my daily life that not everything that happens is a personal affront to us. Some people do things for their very own reasons, independent of us and there is nothing we can do about it to make it different or better. Knowing that, each day becomes a little simpler to deal with and makes the forgiving process so much easier. Did a coworker do something that really made you really upset today? Do you think it was their sole intention to hurt you? Could it be that they are having their own personal struggle that manifests itself as a kick to your ego? Sometimes we twist and present everything as an attack on us, because we often exist in our own little world where all that matters is our feelings. We make ourselves the victim or carry resentment that does nothing but fester and grow into larger personal battles that we have no business fighting in the first place.

I know the two people that read this are sitting there saying, “Yeah, we know this already” but how often do you shrug it off in real life applications, when it really matters? You tell other people constantly not to sweat the small stuff but do you actually adhere to that advice yourself?

There is a lot I could say about the challenges I have experienced recently and whether or not I feel that they are fair or reasonable, but what is the point? I have no power over how others choose to live their life and the priorities they find most important. I really truly believe that everyone has greatness in them and  I guess what really gets me through is knowing this. Why carry anger around for someone when maybe that person just hasn’t figured it out yet or isn’t designed to? Why carry anger around at yourself for not recognizing it earlier or not seeing the pain you might've caused? We aren’t infallible – we are human. Who are we to fault anyone for their flaws? It hurts like hell sometimes but forgiveness feels so much better.

I am actively involved in living clichés these days: “Learning from past mistakes and growing from them”,  "looking at the big picture”, “seeing that there is a reason for everything, even if I don’t know what that is yet”. As overused as they may be, they are all true. I encourage everyone to take a step back from the smallness that you might be living in at times of trouble and see it as an opportunity for change… to change the way you view pain, to change how you handle it and to change the course of your future just by recognizing it.


-This message brought to you from my soapbox.