I walked into a wall once. I was in the house of mirrors.
The full force of the impact propelled me to the ground. My lips started to rise before I did. The laughter around me was so loud that the throbbing pain in my face seemed to join the rhythm of their laughter.
There is physical pain and there is ego pain. The ego pain of that situation lingered for days after the swelling of my lips subsided. It was Junior High School. Everything seemed so important then. Adolescence including pimples, crushes and the “parentals” made every circumstance appear personal.
Though we have long graduated Junior High; some of us still see life this way.
Taking things personally encourages ego pain; revisiting the shame, sorrow or trauma of the realities of a ratcheted circumstance. Walking into that wall wasn’t personal, it was just public.
I started living out a hypothesis some years ago that has proven true. Circumstances are not personal. Like equipment in the gym, circumstances offer the opportunity to build muscle, stamina, personal mastery and even courage. I get to respond with gifts, talents, skills and abilities fueled by my willingness to grow. I can’t remember the last time I blamed the gym equipment for getting hurt working out.
I have also been practicing not “taking” offense. Sometimes I am silent. Sometimes I just listen. Sometimes I “take” action, hopefully tempered with mercy.
Random: Silent and listen are spelled with the same letters.
Whatever my response, I am no longer willing to take on the ego of believing circumstances and other’s poor or positive choices, opinions or actions are centered on my existence.
Where is your ego in relationship to what you want to accomplish? Are you easily offended? In the pursuit of dreams, what are you “taking on" or “putting off” as the case may be?
