The Small Stuff

Kim and I were talking yesterday and I mentioned how I've learned to not let the small, insignificant in the long run stuff get me down.  I save my fury for anyone who hurts my family.  Of course, there are incidents of child abuse that can rouse the same fury but that's partly because I can do nothing about it.  Given my choice, I'd rip the bastard to shreds so they'd never again harm a child.

I know my life is more peaceful now because I've learned the tactics of calming myself.  The choice of peace or stress lies within us and we can most often be the masters of our emotions.  I choose peace because stress turns me into someone I don't like to live with.

I long ago learned to stay away from people who are harmful to be around.  Unnecessarily dramatic, dishonest, and bad tempered people are really awful for our own peace of mind.  They drain you.  After I've spent time with the people I like, I feel happy and refreshed.

There are always going to be moments of frustration and unhappiness but we need to keep these moments in perspective.  Are they truly tragic moments that require dealing with or just blips in our lives we can easily put behind us?  Funny, but most of them really are blips and not worthy of our concentrated attention.  

One of my tricks is to freeze the moment.  Stop and take the time to assess calmly before getting all upset.  I haven't mastered the technique but I'm getting there.  Letting small frustrations rule our lives is a total waste of time and energy that we could be using to have fun.  Don't sweat the small stuff, keep your energies for tackling the bigger problems and life will be sweeter.