While enjoying a pleasant evening of playing board games with some of my children, my daughter had loaded up my swing chair with kittens and as I reached over to keep a kitten from falling off, a bee had crawled underneath me.
Surprise! As I sat back up, a sudden, shooting pain shot through the back of my thigh. What I had first confused with perhaps a kitten’s claw, I quickly realized must have been a bee sting as the pain became more intense and sharp!
I am grateful that I am not allergic to bee stings. I am grateful my daughter checked for the stinger and got me ice. I’m grateful that we were able to treat it quickly so the swelling and the pain was minor and I could begin to heal quickly.
But this post is not about gratitude.
Instead, it’s about how easy it is to want to blame and be angry when we are in pain or inconvenienced.
I could have blamed and been upset at that bee. It had caused me a lot of pain, but then again, that little bee could easily blame and be angry at me. It ended up dying after this encounter. (Yea, it got squished).
So, who was in the right? And who was to blame?
Did it really matter? It just is. There was no malicious intent on the part of the bee or on my part. It just happened. Certainly, there was an unpleasant consequence for both parties, but does placing blame help the bee live or me to not have the stinging and swelling?
Yet how often in our interactions with each other, do we cast our mind about trying to place blame? I believe in accountability, but placing blame is not the same thing as accountability.
Dwelling on the actions of another that have caused us pain will do nothing to relieve that pain. In fact, the unforgiving heart cannot heal and, as such, interferes with our ability to find happiness and move forward in life.
I could have been so upset and angry with that bee. I could have talked about it over and over to anyone who would listen. I could have gone in search of any other bees in the area and destroyed their hives in retaliation. You can see how silly this line of thinking is – how futile and such a waste of energy!
Yet how many of us do exactly that, even after many years, when it comes to relationships that have hurt or caused us pain?
There is a much better use of our energy and time. It’s called taking responsibility from this moment on. Acknowledge the event and our placement in that situation and then, decide what you will do from that moment forth.
Those hurts, real or imagined, from childhood, or just last week – that neighbor kid who made fun of you, that teacher who kept you after school for something you didn’t do, that best friend who abandoned you for a new friend, that boss who embarrassed you…the list never ends.
You’ve dwelt on them for many years now. How is that working for you? Do you feel any better about it for having relived and dwelt on that situation all these years? My guess is, that you haven’t.
Are you ready to let it go? Are you ready to feel the peace of acceptance, of forgiveness?
You can begin to feel that comfort today by choosing to forgive and by taking responsibility for what you are going to do from this moment on!
If you need some extra help around this, schedule a SimplyHealedTM energy session with me and let’s get rid of that underlying energy that’s holding you back from experiencing a peaceful, calmer and much happier life!
Sending you much love in your journey.
Love,
