Peace Be With You
As both my husband and I come from large families spread from one end of the country to the next its hard to stay in touch with everyone. We made an agreement early on he would be responsible for his side of the family and I would be responsible for mine.
At the start of my son's 3-day wedding event one of my husband's siblings who lives on the other side of the country asked if he could have a private word with me. I agreed and pulled myself away from guests who were arriving, assuming we were going to have a quick pleasant and uplifting moment. Boy was I wrong.
He proceeded to blast me, stating the last time we were together--18 years ago at my husband's family reunion--I really pissed him off and he vowed to never speak to me again. He's been angry with me ever since.
Sadly, I never noticed.
When I inquired what I did to upset him he replied, 'you said I didn't know if I was an introvert or an extravert.'
I apologized for upsetting him all those years ago and we parted ways.
Hold a Grudge--Hurt Yourself
I was struck how starkly this showed who is most affected when we hold a grudge: Ourselves.
For 18 years he held his anger towards me, and for 18 years I was oblivious to that anger. It had no affect on me whatsoever while he built walls and nursed his anger.
I am truly sorry for upsetting him so long ago and hope our quick word provided him an opportunity to refresh his heart and let go of his anger.
Life is too short to hold onto hurt feelings, anger, and grudges.
Release a Grudge--Help Yourself
💓If you're nursing a hurt and holding a grudge, why not give yourself an opportunity to let it go and get on with living gracefully.
💓Clear your heart of negative energy eating away at you every time you avoid dealing with that other person and every time your mind wanders into thinking about that person.
💓Consider how much easier all your relationships would be if you consciously and freely just let the anger, hurt and hostility go.
THE HEART MAP
Create a Safe Haven in Your Heart
💓Life is full of ups and downs, and experiences that hurt and anger you.
💓Don't let a long-standing grudge bog you down in bitterness and anger.
💓Take advantage of your better angels, and chose to spend more time living your life with love, compassion, trust, hope, inspiration and blessings.
For more than 35 years, Susan Meyerott has been helping people lighten up and step over invisible barriers to change one step at a time. She speaks to your heart, puts you at ease, and makes letting go and moving forward with life easier than ever before.
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6 comments:
Reminds me of the quote, "Holding onto anger /a grudge is like drinking poison and expecting someone else to die.
Lets catch up I want to here about the celebration
love
Schteph
Schteph! What a great quote!
Let's catch up!
Certainly a touching story, Sue. Amazing how oblivious we can be when we only see things from our own perspective.
Yes, so much of our lives we walk around oblivious of the other person's perspective.
Sue, you handled that well. I probably would have burst out laughing before I had a chance to get myself under control. It's amazing how people can be set off by the tiniest little thing!
Well, Jean, I figure if someone lugged that anger and hurt around for 18 years the least I could do is listen and respond kindly. If I can be the key to his putting that heavy load down, a few minutes of my time cost nothing.
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