The worst Poison

After the death of an icon, Nelson Mandela, my Facebook and I’m sure yours too, was flooded with many of his most memorable quotes.  So many were epic one liners about peace, and turning the other cheek, that none of us affluent people with Facebook could ever hope to grasp.  But one quote, not really born of different blood, hit me right in the glabella. “Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.”  The perfect quote for this Facebook nation we live in.

It’s so simple, and yet so powerful.  The energy I hold in my body, saved for that wonderful dark minute in every day when I skulk off to a corner and furiously flip through the rolodex in mind searching, calculating, then pulling out the names of those who have slighted me, burning holes through their eyes, and drawing horns, tails and pitchforks.  It’s the truest form of “poison”.  I hate!  You hate!  We all hate together, and now can share it on the Internet!  I mean look at that senator from _____!  What a jackass he/she is, trying to force me and all my like-minded friends to do that thing we so desperately don’t want to do!

Its sooo much work…  I just can’t do it…  I’ll rant about stuff as much as the next guy, but when it’s all done it done (as much as it can be for a human mind).  I can’t hold a grudge.  I don’t know if it’s just that I’m afraid to really admit to my emotions, or I just don’t want to.  I guess a lot of it is just from learning social sciences.  I mean I took a few 200 and 300 level psych classes, so I preeetty much have a doctorate in it, and I’ve learned that everyone has their shit.  I mean everyone has his or her shit.  We all have shit that were dealing with on a day to day basis, that chip on our shoulder that makes us short and snappy with whomever doesn’t cower at our feet.  So what?  We all have experienced things in our childhood that was not ok, and shouldn’t have happened.  We survived.  We all have toxic secrets that we hold deep inside that we avoid like the plague.  So why are we so quick to judge someone?  Why do we feel entitled to pass judgment, and spit venom on people for such menial reasons.

I’ve found that with little to no effort, I can replace my “resentment” with pity.  I try to live my life on the up and up, I do what I feel is right, and refuse to do things that I know to be wrong.  You got nothing on me!  I won’t try to hurt you, and if I do I will feel bad.  I’m not caught in any Hatfield/McCoy feuds.  So if someone does me wrong then it’s on their shoulders not mine.  After I get over the initial spurn felt, I clear my head and come up with about 10 scenarios that explain why the person is such a vindictive bitch! And then my resentment turns to pity.  We all have our shit.  And thats my rant.