Writer Regina Brett's life lessons are great little nuggets of wisdom. There's something for everyone!
I'll be reflecting on this week's lesson: "Life is too short to waste time hating anyone."
If we're very lucky, most of us will see about seventy years worth of laughter, tears, fun, fear, garbage, and awesomeness. We'll have dreams and we'll see them through, or maybe they won't work out at all. But we should all aspire to fill our lives with as much love as we can -- love for ourselves, for each other, for the world. Hate is a difficult emotion to handle, because it poisons everything that it touches. Emotions like hurt and fear often turn into hate. It can be hard to control. I'm not going to say "If someone hurts you, forgive them and everything will be wonderful and you can love them again!" It doesn't always work like that. Stuff's complicated. But one thing I do know is that if you dwell on all of the bad things which are done to you, and obsess over the people that you dislike or even hate, you'll be taking time away from doing what you love -- and you could also be spending that time with the ones who love you. Hating can be a tempting thing indeed. But even if you can't forgive or forget readily, remember not to lose sight of the fact that you are in control of how you share your emotional time. Don't harm yourself with negativity. Try to rise above it and place your focus elsewhere.
Visit Regina's full list of life lessons on her site, here. :)
I'll be reflecting on this week's lesson: "Life is too short to waste time hating anyone."
If we're very lucky, most of us will see about seventy years worth of laughter, tears, fun, fear, garbage, and awesomeness. We'll have dreams and we'll see them through, or maybe they won't work out at all. But we should all aspire to fill our lives with as much love as we can -- love for ourselves, for each other, for the world. Hate is a difficult emotion to handle, because it poisons everything that it touches. Emotions like hurt and fear often turn into hate. It can be hard to control. I'm not going to say "If someone hurts you, forgive them and everything will be wonderful and you can love them again!" It doesn't always work like that. Stuff's complicated. But one thing I do know is that if you dwell on all of the bad things which are done to you, and obsess over the people that you dislike or even hate, you'll be taking time away from doing what you love -- and you could also be spending that time with the ones who love you. Hating can be a tempting thing indeed. But even if you can't forgive or forget readily, remember not to lose sight of the fact that you are in control of how you share your emotional time. Don't harm yourself with negativity. Try to rise above it and place your focus elsewhere.
Visit Regina's full list of life lessons on her site, here. :)