Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Bitterness... A Hard Pill To Swallow.....

As I walk through this life and deal with different people, I am still confused when I run into or interact with ones who are bitter. I have to wonder what makes them come across in this manner. Are they harboring resentment towards anyone or anything in particular or are there deeper wounds that are ingrained inside that push towards the surface and can not be stopped? Are they upset because they believe they have not received a fair shake in life and deserve more? Do they justify showing others how miserable they must feel as they lash out at the world?

I do not know the answers to the above questions, but I do believe the following. We make our own beds in life and we have the choice of how we react to things that occur. Many of those are simply circumstantial and happen on a regular basis. Most of the time it is due to our own choices that we have made, so why be bitter? We should not think that we deserve anything other than what we work for and do ourselves. Anything else that comes our way should be considered a gift. That's right, You don't deserve anything!

Do you think that Nonna had plenty of times that she could have been bitter? Of course she could have, but she made the choice to look at the positive side. Do you believe that Henry had many of the same opportunities to relish and wallow in self pity and feel bitter? Of course he could have, but he knew that would only be hurting himself. I learned many lessons from my parents, and one of my most prized stickem points is to love yourself first and it will be much easier to love others. I am not saying to think of yourself first, but just the opposite. Try to live your life so that people will think highly of you when you can not hear what they are saying. This is how Henry has lived his life and I will continue to strive to be like him.

Remember this, if you are bitter about things in your life, it's a hard pill to swallow and you are the one who has to do the swallowing.

Love John

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