I feel like I was blessed with a natural sense of diplomacy. Maybe it's because I'm a libra, maybe it's the way I was brought up, maybe it's just the way I am. But I honestly feel like there are very few instances in life where I'm too close to a situation to fairly see all sides. It's both a blessing in a curse, as I frequently am the devil's advocate, or negotiate against myself. And sometimes, it's downright maddening.
I take full ownership for my actions. I don't excuse myself. But when I'm faced with a situation where someone is adamantly blind to their own hypocrisy, it's frustrating. I would never, ever revoke a person's right to react to whatever life hands them however they see fit, but the must do it with at least the acknowledgment that we are all to blame, and no one's to blame at the same time.
The bottom line is this. We're all shitty, and we all do shitty things when we're lonely. the only thing that makes us less shitty is the ability to understand why other people do shitty things. And the patience and humanity to understand. We all just want to get by, and we all do whatever we have to do to survive, but as soon as someone else's actions to do just that impede on our own sense of pride or ownership, or territory, or whatever it is, we get offended. or hurt. or take a head first plunge into martyrdom. and we become blind to the fact that all we have is now, this moment. this relationship. this love, this life. whoever and wherever we were a month ago, a year ago, this morning... those moments are not where we live. they make us who we are, but we should not dwell, only absorb, adapt, and move forward. and learn to let go, let love, let live. and end the end, hopefully we'll all end up happier and better than we were a month ago, a year go, this morning.
tenacity, grace, and diplomacy...open heart, open mind. Maybe it's the wine, but I feel like with these handy tools in my pocket, there's no way I won't get what i want out of life. Or at the very least, what I need to get by.
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In Gail's class, whenever she gives a challenge that could potentially lead to chaos, she always quotes Buddha's "do no harm" saying, and it seems to work. I am the opposite of you in that I Always get too involved in situations-and usually too quickly (silly Pisces) . During moments of clarity where I can step outside myself, I try to always think "do no harm," attempting to prevent myself from making mistakes or adding to my list of regrets. Sometimes it works, sometimes not, but I can always say that I tried. One more Buddha quote for my exit:
ReplyDelete"Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment." Handy tools and good quotes-my favorite things.