LET IT ROLL OFF OUR BACK

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Posted by: " Aarthi Vijayasarathy " aarthi.vijayasarathy

arthi.vijayasarathy

Mon May 26, 2008 7:12 pm (PDT)

 

One of the most difficult challenges in life is learning not to take

things to heart and hold on to it. Especially when we're younger, or

if we're very sensitive, we take so much of what comes our way to

heart. This can be overwhelming and unproductive if it throws us off

balance on a regular basis. When we are feeling criticized or

attacked from all directions, it becomes very difficult for us to

recover ourselves so that we can continue to speak and act our truth.

This is when we would do well to remember the old saying about

letting certain things roll off us, like water off a duck's back.

 

Most of the time, the attacks and criticisms of others have much more

to do with them and how they are feeling than with us. If we get

caught up in trying to adjust ourselves to other people's negative

energy, we lose touch with our core. In fact, in a positive light,

these slings and arrows offer us the opportunity to strengthen our

core sense of self, and to learn to dodge and deflect other people's

misdirected negativity. The more we do this, the more we are able to

discern what belongs to us and what belongs to other people. With

practice, we become masters of our energetic integrity, refusing to

serve as targets for the disowned anger and frustration of the people

around us.

 

Eventually, we will be able to hear the feedback that others have to

offer, taking in anything that might actually be constructive, and

releasing that which has nothing to do with us. First, though, we

tend ourselves compassionately by recognizing when we can't take

something in from the outside without hurting ourselves. This is when

we make like a duck, shaking it off and letting it roll off our back

as we continue our way in the world.

 

--Unknown