For a couple months now I have been irritated and resentful of someone who has insulted me, belittled my work, and generally has just gotten under my skin. And not only have I been holding onto that resentment, but I also have, by sharing my stories of offense, in a sense, been rallying others to be equally irritated by him. In the meantime, I have refused to have that conversation with him--confronting him about my hurt and frustration, and really have just begun avoiding him in all things serious or significantly important. While I know I need to have that conversation with him, I am not super excited about it, but was basically accepting its necessity. But then yesterday I was talking with some parishioners, one struggling with the aftermath of a sexual assault, and various others who are dealing with domestic violence issues. And then it hit me--why in the world am I investing so much time and energy in being irritated with this person when there are SO many things that are more important? So he offended me--so what?!?! Like that's never happened before?!? Right. I finally saw how ridiculous I was being, not that what he said and did was okay, but just that it isn't worth all that energy. There are real problems in the world, and, for the record, being offended by the arrogance and/or ignorance of another is not actually at the top of the list.
So, yes, I had a nice piece of humble pie yesterday. Time to move on.
1 comment:
ah, humble pie. it is so easy to get centered on ones own frustrations though, no matter how petty. the ability to reflect and move away from them is something more people need
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