Lessons Learned

This is a photo of my prayer flags hanging on my porch. They are one of the first things to go up each time I move.

Yesterday, an amazing thing happened in my life. There was drama (not that unusual, really), and someone who I love very much lashed out at me and called me some names. I have not been the target of an attack like this for a very long time. My initial reaction was tears, and anger. But I was at work, so no tears.

Then, a calmness washed over me and I knew there would be no retalliation, no talk with this person about it. I knew what this person said was out of being hurt, and upset. It had nothing to do with me, I was just a convenient target.

This calmness was new to me. Like I said, something like this had not happened for a very long time, and an old, emotional me would have milked this for all it was worth. I would have attacked back, and I would have gone for blood. Things would have been blown way out of proportion. And everything would have gotten quite ugly.

I am no longer that person. I don't go for blood. I issue bandaids when I can, or look away from a tantrum to not fuel the fire.

There was, however, one sliver of what this person said that got under my skin. It festered and pained me like a sliver. I could feel it, and I needed to deal with it. I talked with my best friend online, and she helped me extract it. It no longer pains me and I see it for what it is.

Words can hurt... 2 things I learned yesterday: you don't have to let them hurt you, and you don't have to participate in the games people play.

Life is pretty amazing.