It is not that bad after all
February 24th, 2008 by yau-khailingHuman being would never like distressing things happen on them. A bad day, a doom’s day, a black star shining. Whatever people may call. It comes in different forms. An unendurable critic, a groundless allegation, a betrayal, a lie, a jealousy, a disappointment in relationship, a loss of trust, and the list goes on.
Responses to all these emotional setbacks? Oh, countless. It ranges from crying, complaining, giving up to committing suicide, perhaps. Different people with different personality portray different reactions.
Can we avoid it? I don’t think so. Having intelligence and emotions differ us from animals. Emotions and feelings. Apart from money, I believe those constitute the roots of evil as well, in our daily lives. No human being can escape from this. I’ve come across an article remarking even George Washington was once denounced as a "hypocrite", an "imposter", "slightly better than murderer" in the newspaper. AND, me myself, is living in a community in which you can pick gossips or critics against someone from the air. A refined person like George Washington was not given any exception. On what grounds can we expect a better score?
Is it true that we cannot avoid from getting trapped in an emotional suppression under the shadow of all these setbacks? I have a second thought.
It is a blessing in disguise. It reveals to us who are the people that you can trust, you should treasure, and you should spend your time with. I always love this saying, “the best use of life is love. The best use of love is time. The best time to love is now”. God gives us limited days on this earth. I believe one of the most important things to do in our life is to determine the people we love, the people who love us, and the people we should appreciate and treasure.
The pursuit of material and physical needs in life may drain us up. We may oversee people that are true to us and we may end up wasting time with wrong people. In fact, for me the so called ‘bad things that happen to us’ are not that bad after all. It is a shorter route for us to learn and refine the list of important people in our lives. Why wasting time mourning and groaning over the people who hurt you and not worthy of spending your time with?
Apart from that, being criticized is not that bad after all. If it is sincere and reasonable critic, accept it and we will grow better and it is definitely a gain. If it is a groundless allegation with the aim of ruining you, bear in mind that no one ever kicks a dead dog. It somehow tells you impliedly that you are accomplishing something and you are worthy of attention. People get a savage sense of satisfaction out of denouncing those who are better.
I believe that the way we think develops and defines our personality. And choose to think that unjust and unjustified criticism is a disguised compliment.
So, why make a big fuss out of it? For me, it is not that bad after all.