Everyday Canvas

Sweating the Petty Whatever

I try not to sweat the petty things and also not to pet any sweaty things, but there was a time when my children were playing sports in tyke or kids leagues when I did both. How can you not hug sweaty little kids? How can you not sweat the petty things that your sweaty kids come to you telling of the opposite team’s unjust tactics with the complaint: “They cheated!”

Even if I didn’t sweat –as much- with my kids’ petty stuff, I at least perfected my effective listening skills without interrupting them while they kept carping. In those instances, petting the sweaty kids came in handy and released me from agreeing with them verbally. There’s no way you can reason with a kid or a person who is like a kid and is hurting because he believes the worst has happened to what is important to him at the moment.

Other than hugging my sweaty kids, there was no way I could successfully pass on to them my lifetime’s experience of, “It’s all small stuff.” That bit of ahha! thing they had to find out for themselves.

I think they did, too, if I am not mistaken. My kids must have learned that or something close to it by now from what I gather, if I am not deluding myself.

It makes sense to accept life as it is. To let go lightens people up and frees them from putting too much emphasis on pointless things, as life is one thing after another; you lose some, and you gain some. Even though we may mess up, we are all doing the best that we know how in the circumstances we’re in. Then, at the end, my guess is, practice makes perfect.


What May Make People Sweat the Petty Things

1. Inexperience in Life
2. The fixed notion that they have to be right and on top all the time
3. Perfectionism
4. The lack of emotional filter
5. Their pledge with themselves to take-none-of-your-basic-shit policy
6. The idea of an eye for an eye
7. Having no empathy for those who aren’t at their level
8. Having thick skin and even thicker confidence
9. Feeling so bad about their shortcomings that any little thing feels like an insult or injustice
10. Mixing their need for TLC with the commandments for Truth and Justice
11. Thinking they are only speaking the truth
12. Thinking they are responsible for correcting everything
13. Feeling that their routine is disturbed in some way
14. Having zero tolerance for drama in others, although they may be the drama kings and queens themselves

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Prompt: Don't sweat the petty things, and don't pet the sweaty things. Take this and apply it to your blog in any way you see fit.
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