What I Have Learned
I have learned that the cruelty of others is never about me. It is always about the people being cruel. I do not have to worry that I caused it. I do not have to consider it a commentary on my own worth. And I do not have to take it in as though it has anything to do with me. Knowing that the cruelty of others is not a reflection on me gives me a great deal of peace.
I have seen and experienced a lot of cruelty in my life, and it always shocks me. I hope that it will continue to shock me, as long as I live, because that shock means that my heart is still open and hopeful and loving.
May you walk through this world of beauty and suffering with the peace of knowing that whatever anyone does, you are worthy of love, dignity, respect, and abundance.
© 2013 by Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg
Self-representation
Alicia Butcher Ehrhardt
1/8/2014 | 3:00 pm Permalink
Cruelty by others is their problem, their bad karma – but it can affect you, and that’s where it needs to stop.
It’s so hard to separate ignorance from deliberate cruelty, but if the result feels like cruelty to you, then it IS cruelty to you.
I’ve given up explaining about my disabilities to most new people – I don’t have that kind of energy, and so I mostly stay home and am not in a place with many new people.
Alicia
PS I always hope the next year will be better.