“Don’t take it personally…”

There is one word of advice I could never really swallow from my dad. Whenever I came sulking to him with relationship problems with anyone he always told me, “It isn’t about you, it is about them. Don’t take what other people do or say personally.” Well I can tell you within that moment, without fail, I was taking that “advice” quite personally and would leave the room more annoyed than before. It is only human nature for us to take EVERYTHING personally. Though most of us don’t like to admit it, our worlds revolve around ourselves. In an essance it is the American way. Individual freedom and success and what not. Yet, as the years have gone by I’ve come to realize that my dad is so incredibly right (not that it doesn’t annoy me as much as it did then). People care too much. I care too much. For the last 20-years of my life I have been the hugest people pleaser in the world. I practically live for others. So when people get upset with me or vice versa, I care, and therefore I take it personally. Unfortunately, you can’t make people happy 24/7. A lot of the times we can’t even keep our ownselves happy. So, what exactly am I getting at here? Well, it is very noble to always want people peachy and not trying to kill each other. But it isn’t our duty. The best thing we can do for the world is be happy with who we are. Ghandi said we must be the change we wish to see in the world not only because it is a good example and so forth, but because he knew we can’t change other people- but that doesn’t mean we cannot change ourselves. So the next time someone does something that hurts you and makes you feel like you should be so unhappy because of it– slap yourself. You can’t change them, so why would you let them change you in that moment. Not only will you be happy, but that really deep word called “forgiveness” is connected to a much bigger picture. LOVE. All you need is love.