This happened in one of my tutoring classes last week. The students were talking about a girl with down syndrome, and I talked to them about people with handicaps.
However, that's not what we're talking about today.
This is the life lesson I wish to address...
How many times has it happened to you? Someone cancels their plans with you...Someone leaves you a message that they won't make it...someone says something to tease you, and it really hurts...
I've been having some interesting interactions with people lately. Some people are scaring me, others are worrying me, and still others are offending me.
How do I deal with them? How do I keep my "chin up" and my "eyes forward?"
I've decided to believe people to be well-intentioned.
That doesn't mean that if it's 11 PM at night and someone comes walking past me on the sidewalk here that I don't cut a wide circle around them. It's more about interpersonal relationships. My friend offended me, but maybe he was just trying to help. This friend cancelled on me and gave me an excuse, but let's assume it was legit.
This seems to work best, however, when I learn to look for ways to make myself feel good rather than rely on others for it. If I read through a new book, I'm proud of myself for doing so and for gaining something from it. If I lose another pound or two over a week I can be happy about the conscious decision I'm making to make myself healthier. Then, when someone cancels, I can honestly say to myself that my being happy doesn't depend on that plan being fulfilled. I can be disappointed by it, but in the end, I'm a decent person doing what I can to make myself better. That is something I can be proud of.
That said, maybe this doesn't mean anything to you, but to me it's meant a lot and has become something I'm practicing here.
But work is calling. Grading, lesson planning, and exam-writing are on my to-do list today.
My best intentions to you. (haha) Or "chin up, eyes forward..."
~Buster
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