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#Scintilla13 Getting Even

Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind. Write about a time you taught someone a lesson you didn’t want to teach.

She had stolen my Violet, my favorite Pound Puppy plush toy. She thought she was entitled to my stuff because her parents owned the basement apartment we lived in. I was furious. I’d show her, though — I’d teach her how it felt to have your belongings violated. I found her play make-up compact. I took it home with me. When we moved, I kept it as a reminder that she stole my Violet. I would recall the sadness I felt, not having that plush toy. As I grew older, I began to forget the little plush toy and giggle at my three-year-old sense of justice. After all, two wrongs really don’t make a right.

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#Cultivate2012 Lesson

Lesson: We may have started this year with the best of intentions, but plans may have gone awry. What lesson really jumped out at you this year? How can you cultivate that lesson going forward?

My biggest, most challenging lesson to learn this year was relinquishing control to the unknowns. Life happens, and sometimes we can’t prepare for these unexpected variables. We can try to be ready, but we can’t control life. When I began to let go of my need for control, I started to feel lighter and more ready to face my days.

Now, I’m stubborn. I form habits and tend to fall back into old habits easily. Cultivating a lifestyle of less control will continue to be a challenge going forward. My father-in-law once told a former therapist that I “control the way the world spins.” I think he meant to say I feel the need to control the way the world spins, and he’s actually made a fairly accurate observation of my control-freak nature. When things don’t go just right, I get grouchy. I’ve had to really stop, remind myself that other human beings and animals have wills of their own, and take a deep breath. Mechanical features fail with or without warning. Other people’s choices may touch my own life. Considering I’ve done well to cultivate gratitude and happiness by listing my daily gratitudes, acknowledgments, and happinesses, I’m sure I could practice releasing my need for control over too many aspects of life.

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