I have to admit that for the most part I’m a forgiving person. A stranger, such as a cashier, or even a family member, can be mean or hateful to me and I usually shake it off, and say to myself that they are having a bad day and try not to take it too personally.
This isn’t to say that I don’t get my feelings hurt easily, because I do, and often these "feelings" result in a teary breakdown, but afterwards I can usually pull myself together and try to backup and figure out what lead to this. I try to remind myself that we don't always know what's going on in that person's life, even if it's a loved one, and that everyone has bad days occasionally that can make us short and mean-tempered.
The one person, though, that I do have a hard time forgiving is myself. If I’m short tempered and snap at someone or say something I know is hurtful, I soon find myself in tears of regret. And, of course, the really bad thing is that once a word is uttered, it's impossible to take it back. I learned this the hard way many years ago when I lashed out at someone with words that I was never able to take back. We made up and spent time together, but it was never the same.
Because of that, I learned over the years to consider my words carefully before saying them. If I'm aggravated at something someone is doing, and feel it should be done another way, I ask myself, will what I'm wanting to say actually make them do it different, or will it just create a rift between us? If the latter, I do my best to hold them back.
Some lessons you just have to learn for yourself, and you can’t pull words back out of the thin air once spoken.
How nice it would be if I had an “undo” button, like on my computer so that with a simple “click” of the mouse, the harm is undone and I can back-up and regroup and find a kinder way to say something, or better yet, keep my mouth shut.
Because of my own feelings and experiences on this, I thought I’d just take today’s “Rambling” and use it as a gentle reminder for us all to be as kind to ourselves as we are to others, forgiving our mistakes as we forgive others, for in the end, we are human, not God.
If He thought we were going to be perfect, He would not have given us trials and tribulations. With each mistake we make, we learn and we grow into a better person... that’s the way it’s supposed to be... Be kind and forgiving to all-that is His instructions, not mine... Sharon
From a song I heard long ago.. Words can accuse and carry bad news, the seeds of mistrust they may sow, but unless you've made no mistakes in your life, be careful of stones that you throw..
