A Commitment Not a Resolution
I stopped doing the whole resolution thing a long time ago. There are lots of things I could change to be more healthy, but I’d rather do things that make those people in my life happier than resolve not to eat that extra piece of chocolate cake. So here is something I need to remember to make my life and in turn the lives of those who matter to me, better.
You can’t fix stupid. – I often feel the need to pull out my soapbox when I see things that make me annoyed or in general say ‘What the f**k”. I don’t need to spend time and energy on those who choose to be stupid and ignorant. The people who put themselves out there and proclaim to the world that they are an idiot can be king of the sandbox. I’m going to grab my shovel and my bucket and leave. Unless someone hurts one of mine, I will not try to fix their stupidity.
Stupid is a matter of opinion for the most part, and I won’t say I always refrain from acts of stupidity, but more often than not those are caused by the fact that my memory has shrunk to the size of a lima bean, not because I consciously go forth with random acts of ignorance. If it hurts others, I don’t do it. If it causes extra stress in my life, I don’t do it. If it’s going to lead to bad things happening to me or mine, I don’t do it. If it’s going to mean I have to spend precious hours cleaning up a mess that resulted in something I felt the need to do or say, I don’t do it.
So there is my commitment. I shall not do battle with stupid. I will turn and walk away and spend that energy on people who matter. Some things are causes to fight for, hell there are a lot of them, but getting all stressed out because somebody was really rude at the store, drove like an ass, allowed words that proclaimed their lack of intelligence, or in general did things that make me say WTF, are not. I will not engage. I will spend my time showing my wife, mother, kids, grandchildren, friends, service submissive guys, people I work with, and those who add joy and substance to my life that they matter, and I will get off the ‘I need to fix this random person because they are so so incredibly stupid’, train. My little red caboose will no longer make stops at that station. If stupid finds me none the less, I will remain calm, carry on, and refuse to be derailed.
Welcome aboard all of those who make my life so wonderful. I love you and appreciate all of you. I will help you toss your worries and stress off the train if you need me to, I will give advice if requested, I will help with a struggle you are in, I will support you, otherwise, sit back and relax. It is NOT going to be a bumpy ride.
This is the hard one to do when the individuals involved are in one’s own family.