The Last Word

Happy Wednesday,

How is everyone doing this fine Wednesday afternoon? I hope you are all doing great and guess what? It’s hump day and we are half walf way to the weekend. Anything exciting planned? This is my birthday weekend, so John is taking me to dinner with Art and Laura, two of our bestest friends. I’m super excited to be able to spend time with them. We always have such a great time together. John is participating in a paddle board race here at the lake this weekend too. I am blown away at the amount of clubs there are here. You could fill almost every moment of every day if you were so inclinde to do so. I’m going to dabble in a few things and see if there is something I can do on a regular basis, especially with the headaches and now the neck and back pain are back with a vengence. Ugh. One day at a time to push through all this. Maybe a club or two might distract me from the pain that I’m being hit with, or maybe, it’ll be my reason to stay put and write, afterall, writing is my passion.

I wanted to talk about having the last word. Have you ever been in a discussion with someone that turns every conversation to themselves? To the level of minimizing your feelings and making their’s far more important? I know a couple people like this and sadly, one person in particular is not only wanting the last word, but they are trying to get others on their band wagon of a pitty party. and are starting to gang up on a person that didn’t see the fight coming. First let me say this, life is too short for this kind of drama, especially when these people are all grown adults.

I sometimes wonder, why can’t I, or they let it go? Why is there always that one person that brings something up from 5, 10 even 20 years ago? Why do we or I or some people hold onto things to only bring it up and throw it in your face weeks, months and years from now? All this stuff that my friend is going through right now has my heart sad for her and it also brings up emotional memories for me, along with making me really stop and think about life, friendships, family dynamics and overall relationships. My friend told me last night that she has reached out to her spiritual advisor about a situation that she is trying not to drown in. Her advisor asked her some questions and then, he asked her for some examples of past behaviours with the person she is dealing with currently. Her reply, “I can’t think of an example from back when. I let those go. sSo I really need to sit and think about it and try and come up with something to share with you.

Wouldn’t it be awesome if we were all like this? Letting things go? I know I’m guilty of having the last word and I know from experience too, I feel so much better when I shut my mouth and decide to not engage in a petty issue. Even bigger issues, unless you are hurting my family, there’s nothing that really requires me to have to have the last word. I am working on keeping focued on that, especially now, watching what my friend is going through. Gosh, the last word really isn’t worth it. The pain its causing is, as my friend calls it, “dark and evil.”

I love this saying, “speak to people in a way that if they died the next day, you’d be satisfied with the last thing you said to them.”-unknown. Life is such a precious gift, so why do some treat others so harshly? Is it worth having to be right? Is it worth having the last word, especially with those that are our family and mean the world to us? This makes me think too of people we run into in the course of our days. The grouchy woman in front of us at the grocery store. Maybe she was up all night with a sick baby, spouse or partner. What about that neighbor who is avoiding us like the plague. Have they heard something about me so now I jump right into I won’t talk to you either mode? Who knows, maybe they just lost a loved one? Maybe they were just laid off from a job, or maybe, they recieved some bad news from the doctor? Point is, none of us know what’s going on in someone’s world, so why not treat others more kindly, intead of having to have that last word?

In life, we all fall, we all make mistakes and sometimes we totally get off course. Maybe it’s time for us to work on pushing our reset buttons. With so much craziness in our world today, especially with the pandemic, and more of us on edge from the long lock down we just experienced, maybe we can find it within our hearts to forgive more? Let go of old habits and formulate new, healthy ones, especially when it comes to the way we treat others? I know for me, it’s time to let go of certain beliefs, mindsets and things that cause me a mental block and that are standing in the way of me becoming the best version of myself.

I saw a quote a little bit ago on one of the positive affirmations sites I subsribe to and it made me chuckle a little bit, then it made me think, wait, I don’t want people talking about me, then I realized, the Universe is guiding me to a new, healthier way of thinking. While I hate it when someone doesn’t like me or is upset with me, there isn’t much I can do about it other than ask why and maybe adjust something if it truly is a flaw on my part and not just someone wanting complete and utter control over me or a situation. “Whatever you hear about me, please believe it. I no longer have time to explain myself. You can also add to it, if you want.”-unknown.

I guess it’s a snarky way of saying, if you’re involved in the gossip of wanting to know my business without coming to me for facts, then have at it. Do what you will with the story line, because at the end of the day, I don’t have time to defend every little thing and I don’t want to. It’s time to let things go and move forward. Life is so short and in an instant, things can change and life can be lost. I don’t want my last thought to be a negative one about myself or about anyone for that matter. I don’t want to have my last word to be unkind.

The Bible says this at Colossians 3:13-15, “put up with one another. Forgive. Pardon any offenses against one another, as the Lord has pardoned you, because you should act in kind, but above all these, put on love! Love is the perfect tie to bind these together. Let your hearts fall under the rule of the anointed’s peace, and be thankful.” Putting up with one another means we don’t let the petty things turn those mole hills into mountains. We need to forgive each other and realize, more than likely, things that happen aren’t about what we say or do, it’s about how others react to to them or how we react to what others say and do. We have so much to be thankful for. If you’re reading this, then you took a breath this morning and perhaps got out of bed?

“While you wake up today, someone is taking their last breath. Thank God for another wonderful day, don’t waste it. Reach others with love.”-idlehearts.com. So I leave you and myself with this last thought and question, the last word, is it worth it?

Don’t forget, Love Life++