Exposed

What would life look like if everyone realized that nothing that people do or say is about you? That is pretty amazing. Almost mind-blowing because, you see, we are egotistical humans, so we take everything personally. You know the guy that just cut you off in traffic and then proceeds to drive under the speed limit? Yeah, he didn’t wake up this morning with a clear goal to make you angry or impatient. Remember the cashier who basically mumbled and grunted at you without a smile on her face? Then she huffed because you asked for your bread to be put in a bag by itself. She did not wake up this morning with intent on frustrating you.

NOTHING IS ABOUT YOU!!! It is all about them and the space they have created for themselves. When Brian entered recovery, I asked him why he would intentionally hurt me with his binge drinking? His response was, “I never thought about you when I was drinking. It was all about filling that emptiness that I was feeling”. What? How did you not think about your wife during that time? My ego is very loud. My ego needs to be humbled. (EGO = Edging God Out)

When we take something personally, we give away our power. When we take something personally, there is something within us that hasn’t been healed.

I defer to my new mantra:

I am rubber. You are glue. Whatever you say, bounces off of me and sticks to you.

It sounds childish, but this mantra allows me to be a mature adult where I take things at face value. Their actions, reactions, insults, or anything else they may say or do, isn’t about me. That is a freeing statement. It allows me to be in a place where I can love and respect those individuals. I can save space for them. I can acknowledge their pain. I can release any feelings that I am harboring and shift my perception. Suffering is optional.