High Ground Maintience

TODAY'S QUOTE:
"If criticism is mistaken or mean-spirited, rise above it. Maintain the high ground when you're under fire. No victory is worth winning at the expense of picking up the mud that has been slung at you and throwing it back."... Rubel Shelly

This is a quote I have adopted as a very healthy coping aid when I feel boxed into the need to reply to things that would be much wiser to simply ignore. If I'm mistaken I say so without restraint, but I refuse to remain on my knees, begging for forgiveness forever. And when I own no blame I will not gather it up like a priceless gift, so I have no need to spend endless time trying to return it to where it rightfully belongs.

In life there is plenty of blame to go around, some deserved... some not so much... some not at all, swallow what you earn, suffer the bellyache, clean up the mess, then flush and move on. If someone dips more onto your plate than is due then simply put it down and walk away. No good will ever come from slinging it back into their face, unless you relish making a mess that you will be responsible for cleaning up. If they are mistaken, you prove them right, and if they are mean spirited you supply them with a switch they will never stop flipping... either way you lose.

I always do my best not to shit where I sleep, but I have been forced into stinky situations that I did not create and the last instance inspired anger that created unwise responses that I will never repeat in this lifetime. I gained wisdom, which is wonderful, but the cost was almost more than I could pay. My reaction robbed me of the right to say I was blameless, and caused me more pain than I would have suffered otherwise. Once I picked up the first handful, everything that happened afterwards was totally out of my control. i ended up with a plateful of bitter things to digest and a mess to clean up... that will NEVER happen again!!!

Everyone has their own agenda and mine is the peace of mind I get from not abusing someone else's space for the sole comfort of mine. I guess that has been done to me enough to make it sickening to my sight and caustic to my life. Tearing someone else down does not make us any taller, but it does alter the size of our soul. Refusing to take the bait leaves the fisherman looking foolish, and that beats swinging on a hook any day. Think about it... let it ride... then decide!!!