recovery and growth, things that interest me, occasional deep-thoughts, and semi-regular poetry
You have the right to remain silent. It’s hard to remember that sometimes. The right to remain silent applies to a variety of situations. Our opinions are not always needed. Our thoughts are not always wanted. They’re often inappropriate and sometimes, they reach the level of vaguely vicious. Too often, in our rush to comment and share our thoughts, politeness and consideration drift away, replaced by judgment and intolerance...
The world would be a much easier place if everyone did things my way. Then I wouldn’t get frustrated, out of sorts, and irritated. It is, of course, everyone else’s fault. The people in my life, especially the ones I live with, commit egregious sins constantly. I’m pretty sure they do it on purpose, intent on destroying my calm and wrecking my day. The litany of complaints I have is exhaustive...
I have some resentments. Some are old ones I take out and air periodically and some are new, a result of day to day living. I don’t like having them. Resenting things makes me feel small and petty and with the old ones, vindictive; when I revisit them, I often wish ill upon the targets of my ire. I don’t like having bad feelings. Their emergence, however, is an inevitable consequence of life. How we deal with them is where the work needs to happen...
...Why some people believe the things they do has always been a mystery to me, but the article got me thinking: why do I believe the things I believe? The answer turns out to be, because it suits me to. My beliefs comfort me, whether or not they are accurate. Unfortunately, my beliefs don’t always serve me well. We all like to think we think the best thoughts. We all think our points of view are the best and most correct. Unfortunately, we can’t all be right. It’s a frustration, but it’s true...
I used to ask, “why me?” frequently. It seemed to me my lot in life was unfair. It seemed the amount of suffering I endured was disproportionately harsh compared to my peers. Of course, I didn’t stop to think that compared to others in this world, my life was relatively easy and trouble-free. Still, where we live is our reality; comparisons are pointless. So is asking “why me?”
