You would think that at the age of forty, some lessons would be mastered or close to it. Well, today, was a reality check for me. For some time, I have harbored ill feelings toward an individual but today that reality came to a crossroad. I felt impressed to express my feelings to this person and formally apologize for my wrong feelings and ask for forgiveness. Because I wanted to make sure that I expressed myself correctly, I wrote a short note to this individual. The note I received in return was exactly what I needed to hear.
In the mission field, I tried to do something, every day, that would pull me out of my 'comfort zone.' That takes work. My experience today also required me to step outside of that zone and do something that I ultimately knew to be right.
When I was a kid, I felt like my parents knew so much about life and the consequences that came from making certain decisions. I didn't ever think that the reason they knew so much was that, one, they either made a mistake that taught them a particular lesson or, two, they knew someone who made a mistake that taught them a specific lesson of life. There was a time when I thought that my parents were flirting with perfection.
I pass on my personal learning experience of today, in hopes that someone else will make the choice to take something or someone that bothers them, today, and correct that situation so that not one more minute is wasted feeling sorry or bad.
This life continues to speed onward. The days and weeks race by. It is up to you as an individual to prioritize your life and weed out and fix that which is not good.
I want to be a good person--and I know you do, too. I want to get along with people.(That is sometimes very hard to do.) Each person does things according to their own individual abilities and talents. We don't all have to agree on everything. Now is the time and today is that day to fix the things that seem so tiny but that consume energy that we are unaware of.
I feel better knowing that progress is on my side. My heart feels better about this person. I have exercised some humility and that feels really good. Make the choice to fix those things that are currently amiss. You'll be very glad you did.
