I posted a blog recently that ticked a few people off.
Oh well. If what I wrote didn't piss people off, I wouldn't be doing my job.
As I told this particular person, quite pointedly, “Had you
wanted me to say nice things about you, you should have behaved better.”
Then, as I read said diatribe-like-reply from said blustery
bully following my statement, the most appropriate response (in my mind) was, “Blah,
blah, blah” – which was exactly the response he received. Because the diatribe,
bullshit, nonsensical excuse of a message was nothing more than the white noise
of ego, of having to be right, of being more concerned with one’s reputation or
status than one is concerned with doing the right thing.
Then, I thought even further, "How dare this man! How dare he be more concerned, or spend more time on ways to silence my voice than he is by doing the right thing, by making things right with the people he has damaged....because his ego has him far more concerned with his reputation than it does doing the right thing by the people he "claims" to love."
Ego, outweighed justice; doing the right thing....once again for this individual. How sad.
Then, I thought even further, "How dare this man! How dare he be more concerned, or spend more time on ways to silence my voice than he is by doing the right thing, by making things right with the people he has damaged....because his ego has him far more concerned with his reputation than it does doing the right thing by the people he "claims" to love."
Ego, outweighed justice; doing the right thing....once again for this individual. How sad.
And I have no time for that.
Ego prevents us from admitting that we have done wrong, that
we have (somehow, someway) caused other people pain, or even trauma that we
should have to atone for, that we should have to make right. If we are so
concerned with our actions being exposed in the light of day for the world to
see, shouldn’t the question be, “Why did I do that in the first place? It was
wrong. How can I make it right?” As opposed to, “How dare they tell the world
the horrible things I’ve done.”
Because here is the thing – at least in this particular
situation – what you did was the domino that knocked over a million other
dominoes, causing a million other gripes that wouldn’t have existed had you not
done what you did to begin with.
That’s the cold, hard, honest truth. Like it or not.
And it applies to us all.
When we allow our ego to damage other people, when we condescend,
when we talk down, when we are selfish and unyielding, those things have
reactions that come back to us with them. When we wrap ourselves up in a cocoon
of self-protection, there is no room for love, forgiveness or even
co-existence.
That’s the catastrophic damage ego can do.
And yes, the damage IS, indeed, catastrophic.
I am not, in any way, saying (or even implying) that I am
perfect.
I’m not.
Far from it.
I have a LONG way to go before I even get near the tiniest edge of the cusp of
perfection. I have done (and even written about --openly-- things I have done that
I am not at ALL proud of, but things I did learn from….over time.)
However, I can say this: I realized long ago that setting my
ego aside in favor of doing the right things for me, for the people I love, for
strangers who have become family, or even family who have become strangers that
ego really isn’t that important in the end, especially when it’s compared to
the importance of doing the right thing.
Because doing the right thing has its own reward. Always.
Doing ego, rarely does.
Ego is instant gratification in a world where instant
gratification reigns supreme.
And while I don’t have time, or any interest, in stopping my
flow to throw stones at every dog who barks, I can say that sometimes, stones
need to be thrown…especially when those stones are ages overdue. Because those
stones are named truth, and the barking dog, named ego. Because, sometimes,
that’s the only way to get the one thing that still matters in a world full of instant
gratification and on-demand pleasure or pain: respect.
Ego prevents us from doing the right thing. Doing the right
thing prevents us from having a chronic case of ego.
Do you see the difference?
Do right, before you insist on being right. Because with
that mantra, you’ll never fail.
Much Love,
Miss Adventures
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