Fighting Fire with Fire

Hi guys! Sorry I didn't post last week. I was crazy busy with prom and all that good stuff, but I'm back! So today I'm going to reflect on something I've been observing for a few weeks.

Life isn't perfect (yes, I know that was a very original thing for me to say), but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try to make it as perfect as we can.  The fact is, lots of things bother us whether it be things, life events, or especially, people.  

One thing I have noticed lately is that people think it's okay to treat others badly.  But why?  There a variety of different reasons, but the reason I've been given most often isn't making sense to me: They were mean to me when...[insert some period of time as long as a year or more]. 

What's bothering me is that some people seem to think that no one deserves a second chance (or a third or fourth) even when the person is sorry.  There's a sense of entitlement that someone gets to be mean to someone else once that person has been mean to them, but that's entirely wrong in my opinion.  When we are mean back, we create a cycle that is never ending, and that makes things worse for everyone around us.

Everyone makes mistakes. From the guy you have a crush on, to your best friend, to your family - they all make mistakes. And many times, those people want to say they're sorry, but some of us aren't allowing them to. How can we expect things to get better, for things to change, if we won't allow them the chance to fix anything? No one is asking you to forget what they've done, but you can forgive them. 

You know what it felt like to be hurt by them, and it probably wasn't very fun. Why would you want someone else to feel the way you did? That seems backwards to me.  And I have seen both sides of the spectrum.  I've seen people be mean and want to say they're sorry and I've seen people who have been mean to and not allow anyone to make things better.  That's got to stop.  Everyone has been mean, including myself.  We don't always intend to be, but it happens.  And with that, we need to learn forgiveness. You can't fight fire with fire.  It doesn't work that way. 

When we don't give people another chance, we box them off.  We ignore the goodness inside of them that wants the chance to come out and cause that person to become more mean or sad. Why should we box that part away? If anything, we should be trying to bring the good out in other people.  Try to help each other learn from our mistakes and grow.  

We can't hold something against someone when they're sorry.  It's also a lot of energy to box someone off, and it's not healthy for either party.  Whether one has been mean, or been the target of unkindness, we should be helping them become better and happier people. 

All in all, no one is better than anyone else, and we need to learn to continuously find the good inside one another.  Only you can choose to make a change and see the good.  

Feel free to share your opinions in the comments and tell me about what you've seen happen!  Enjoy your week! 

Love Always,

Bree x