Don’t challenge me unless you are willing to take what comes with it. Don’t throw down the gauntlet and then cry when you are engaged by someone who doesn’t let up because you are losing or things are rough.
This isn’t just about me although it ties into me.
It is about people who start things they can’t finish and then cry because they get hurt. It is about those who get smacked, slammed and mauled because they bit off more than they can chew and then spend time racing around the blogosphere, the UN or wherever to cry about it.
Victims
I don’t have patience or tolerance for a victim mentality. If things aren’t figure out how to change them.
I don’t claim to be special, profound or insightful. I just know these things because life has kicked, hit, bit and chewed upon me a bit and all I could do was take it or move.
Change is hard. Change is frightening, but it is a part of life and it has to be met head on.
Children
We’re going through some growing pains here. My kids have been learning some hard lessons and it hurts because I can’t take all of the blows for them. I have taken many and will take more but they have to learn what to do when they get knocked down.
They have to learn how to rise after they fall and how to deal with adversity.
Life has been bittersweet for a good long while now and yesterday was a day that made me want to scream with frustration because of things the kids said.
But when I took a deep breath and looked around it was also clear how much progress we have made and that some of what they said is because they are just kids. It happens.
I didn’t react outwardly to their words because they take their cue from my reaction, but beneath a relatively calm exterior there was a lot going on.
Just a few more steps, got to push a bit longer and a bit harder and we’ll get beyond this place.
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This was my 5 minute Stream of Consciousness Sunday post. It’s five minutes of your time and a brain dump. Want to try it? Here are the rules…
Set a timer and write for 5 minutes.
Write an intro to the post if you want but don’t edit the post. No proofreading or spell checking. This is writing in the raw.
Publish it somewhere. Anywhere. The back door to your blog if you want. But make it accessible.
I still have to try this spilling my brain out post someday. And have the courage to post it online… what if there are a lot of swear words in there?
You should do it. You will love the freedom to just write without worrying about what your internal editor has to say. It’s something that provides a certain amount of freedom it doesn’t come in any other fashion.
Sounds fun.
You inspired a blog post, Jack. I hope you enjoy it. Cheers!
Amazing, love this kind of ‘spilling yer brains’ type post.
Hi Jack,
Thanks for sharing your insights. You seem to love your kids very much. Life can really be tough at time, but there is really no one to blame of what are happening but ourselves. We should be responsible with our decisions and accept whatever may be the outcome of it.
Yeah, I just had one of these. Someone called me out on their blog and cited me incorrectly. I took them to task for it, and corrected them, then they whined about me taking it personally. Ummm, dude, if you play adult games…
Hi Geoff,
That is ridiculous. If you link to someone or use their name you have to expect there will be some sort of action/reaction to it.
Civility isn’t always easy to come by online.
Glad you teach your children these things and how to work things out for themselves! I’m sure it can be hard to watch, but it is worth it.
Hi A. Eye,
I can’t do it any other way. Life is good, but sometimes it is challenging and the only way to figure that out is to learn how to figure it out. Coddling won’t help.
Yes. All of this. Glad you’ve seen progress with the kids. Sometimes it’s hard to see until you really look. In that same situation right now.
Hi Jana,
Well let me wish you a speedy journey through this time because it sucks. 😉 Fortunately life experience helps as does the ability to measure progress. Nothing stays the same.
I love your no-nonsense mentality and ability to let it out for the world to see. Good for you; thanks for sharing.
Hi Sandra,
Thank you. I love to write and my favorite way of blogging is to just go for it so this works.