Collateral Damage

One of the ways that I maintain my happiness is by trying not take things personally. Most days it works for me. But I must admit, some days it is harder for me to keep that at the forefront of my mind. I am a work in progress. To look at someone, you are not going to be able to tell all that they have been through or what they might be going through. Sometimes we think a response is related to us when it is not. I have a "two rule", not a three. If I get a vibe two times, I address it. I don't like misunderstandings between anyone and me. Life is too short. Sometimes we allow our peace to be disturbed when it is not about us, we are collateral damage. We are caught up in someone else's storm. As Bishop Jakes says, ships don't sink because of chaos going on around it, they sink because water gets inside. Time spent with my uncle helped me to realize that the weaknesses that we had before we become Christians don't disappear, they come with us. It is just that you are now under new management. We can't respond to things the way we used to. We are supposed to Be Different. We have to be light. Trust and believe that every person has a story, whether they choose to share it with you or not. How much time they have spent dealing with their history, shows in their behavior. Instead of reacting to someone treating you a certain way, work on maintaining your peace in the midst of any storm. Your ability to maintain that peace might just be what they need to see that there is a different way, that they don't need to live in chaos. Pay attention, giving in to chaos sets your energy off, it takes you a while to get back to being balanced. I guard my peace so much that I would prefer to release you in love than to allow your chaos to permanently transform my energy. You reacting with the same negativity undermines your ability to be a positive influence. If someone is used to negative being countered with negative, your positive disrupts that negative flow. If we resonate enough positive energy, we will create collateral healing.