Everyday Canvas

The Animosity and the Wrongs of Others

Prompt: "Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity or registering wrong."
Charlotte Bronte
What are your thoughts about this?

------------

I think it’s Jane Eyre talking here and I totally agree. Well, if we let other people’s misbehavior or negativity upset us, it is our fault, not theirs.

We may have a good reason to blame someone else for our being upset over his or her actions but it is us who decide how we feel about things that happen, including the behavior, words, or actions of that someone else. This is because such things cannot harm us, but our perception of them does.

Rarely there may be an exception to this rule, which is when someone works in a harmful way against us behind our backs and we are not aware of it because such actions may generate other actions and negative behavior in yet other people, as in the case of someone slandering or libeling us and making others believe the lie.

Still, we must decide not to get upset but work to clear ourselves because when we get upset, we may not be able to think straight to do anything properly.

A rule of thumb in protecting us from such people is when someone you know suddenly turns into a different person. A person who can change in a heartbeat has no values or morality. An example of this can be a person who is known as the pillar of a community but who is being found out to be a serial killer or someone who acts like some kind of a criminal when no one is looking.

Most of the time, people don’t turn into serial killers and such, but they may start badmouthing and manipulating people and causing chaos. They do it because they like the sense of power it gives them. We should know this and not let their behavior affect us.

In short, if we are living to better our lives and ourselves, we must refuse to be dragged back into the darkness of other people.