A Soft Heart

I recently decided to go on Facebook, mostly because I’d sat down at my computer to do something else and got distracted (you know how that goes). As I glanced down my newsfeed, reading what all my friends were up to, I realized that in just a few hours time, there on Facebook, I’d been called the following:

~~ fucktard, a horrible mom, stupid, idiot, mentally challenged, neanderthal, loon, and dumbass.

Now first, let me explain that no one was literally calling me those names. What my well meaning friends were doing was simply sharing their opinions about things, but doing it in a way that was unkind (anyone who would vote for so and so is a dumbass, etc.). And, as I disagreed with their opinions, I would fall into that category, right? So I was a loon, a horrible mom, and well, you get the idea.

I have personally chosen not to get into arguments over people’s belief systems because opinions are just opinions; I’ll never change anyone’s mind, and everyone (myself included) believes wholeheartedly, 150 percent, that they are the good guy, and most right, and righteous in their belief.

I also notice that when I feel frustrated, and want to rant back at these unkind statements, my anger actually gets worse – I feel hard, and sharp, and unyielding. It’s painful to try to carry on like that.

This is because when we see someone as self-righteous, and become self-righteous ourselves in response, (though we never notice that HA HA), we start leaking energy! And as we lose energy, we become less and less able to handle difficult situations with grace and ease.

A yielding and compassionate heart is what allows us to handle difficult situations more easily. But it takes tremendous courage to have a soft heart, and accept others, along with their differing opinions.

I’d rather be a soft heart, because it allows me to appreciate our differences, and differing opinions, and I’d never want my opinion to make you feel less than the beautiful soul that you are just because we have different thoughts on stuff.

Besides being different is what makes life spicy.