"The problem with taking offense
is that it's really hard
to figure out
what to do with it
after you're done using it.
Better to just leave it
on the table
and walk away.
Umbrage untaken
quietly disappears."
-- Seth Godin
[Classic post from 2-22-14]
I saw this quote from Seth Godin this morning and I was amazed at how it hit me. I absolutely agree and I particularly love the line, ". . . what to do with it after you're done using it." We all must realize how true that is. We do use it. We take offense and then we make a case about it. We use it. We make it more than it could have ever been. But, after making such a big deal out of it, what do we do with it then? Does it just go away? Or does it linger? Does it become part of our psyche? Or, are we able to let loose of it completely after we've done the deed with it?
Based on my own experience, it never seems to go away entirely until and if we come to the point that we stop taking offense. When we allow instead, we have hope.
Besides, the whole idea of things that off-end-us means that we let a thought take control of our lives. It takes on a power of its own. It gets us off-kilter--off our mark. It takes us off where we want to be.
Maybe it's time to find things that on-end-us. Things that inspire, enlighten, enliven us. Perhaps it's time to let go of the idea of what might be wrong and consider all that is right. Maybe it's time to align with the flow of the river of life rather than swim upstream against the current.
Or Not. . .
Spread Some Joy Today--because, after all, it is a personal choice. Why in the world would anyone choose not joy? Only those who know no joy. Share it so they know it.
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