We hear this phrase and the most I heard it used was when I worked for Customer Service Call Center back in one of my first jobs.
People would call yelling at their bill and you were told to deal with the stress "Don't take it personal, they are mad at the company, not you" and that works in a logical sense but it doesn't help when we are taught to help people feel better yet there is nothing you can do for them.
I had a very hard time with this in my life until (as I mentioned before) I found Don Miguel Ruiz's Four Agreements. Finally a way that explained it well!
"Don't Take Anything Personally" Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering
He says that taking things personally is the ultimate form of selfishness because you assume it's all about YOU. People are seeing the world through their own experiences and their own eyes.
You don't know what their world is like.
Taking it personally is assuming not only that it's about you but that they know what your world is like.
Even if someone were to come up to you and shoot you. It wasn't about you, even at that extreme. Further, how could it possibly be about you if you are just walking on the street and someone shoots you. It is about "them".
Last night I went to see the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra perform Carmina Burana. They had an amazing choir and a Tenor, Baritone and Soprano soloist. I loved the Soprano's red dress, gorgeous!
I played this Opera in band when I was in high school and have it on tape somewhere. I used to listen to it all the time. It's rare I hear of it being played, incredible to me because it's so beautiful!
The most popular recognizable song is O, Fortuna. It's sang all in Latin, very beautiful (and actually the translation they gave us, quite dark in some areas which I didn't realize)
The building had some gorgeous architecture and a very cool sculpture hanging from the ceiling. Looks like it was made out of blown glass and metal.
I'd much rather spend a Friday night there then at a bar any day
Here is O, Fortuna with English translations , most people have heard it and didn't know it!
You know how you meet someone and you feel butterflies in your stomach? Just that "chemistry"?
You start to date them then that feeling fades over time. You wonder where did the spark go? What happened?
I can tell you what happened. As the Jedi says "That wasn't the spark you were looking for".
It wasn't love at all, it was lust, nerves and anxiety. You had those feelings because you didn't know them well yet and wanted to impress them because you thought they were interesting.
Fairy tales trick us. They tell us that love is a 'blissful feeling' and we assume when we get that feeling, "Well this must be what love feels like". I think we are mistaking the feeling for love!
Check out the symptoms of 'anxiety' , sound familiar?
Common physical symptoms of anxiety include:
Pounding heart
Sweating
Stomach upset or dizziness
Shortness of breath
Tremors and twitches
Muscle tension
Fatigue
Insomnia
If I had to make symptoms of true love I'd say they are (picked and chose from sites too):
You feel drawn to them and aren't sure why
You feel just a little happier each time you see them (my mom says of my dad)
Physically comfortable togetherness
The sound of their voice comforts you immediately
You deeply understand one another
You both have interests in a similar way, yearning to explore these areas
You long to see them smile and be happy and working for it doesn't feel like work at all
Feelings don't feel forced, natural and effortless
So part of me is Native American. Shawnee we believe, on my dad's side. You can see it very easily in my great grandmother (full blooded) and grandmother.
Here is a picture of my great uncle and his awesome wife who cooks great! (he is half)
So regardless, this brings me to pretty music with Native American singing in it. I find it very relaxing
This comes up regarding my ex-marital life about not trusting my word when I've said things were wrong in the relationship even though I never gave a reason to believe otherwise.
This makes me take notice as I see this happening in many places. In the workplace and many places in between. When you say you feel something or will do something and people pretend to take it seriously but when it comes about they seem surprised.
What is it that surprises someone?
Do most people have so little follow through on their word that we don't have basic trust anymore?
Or do we place so much value on comedy that we are afraid to actually be serious?
I still have my Wonder Woman costume I never used so I may 'be' that this year. I wonder if anyone else is going to dress up? Last year I was the only one at work that got into the spirit so this year I will just wear the tshirt my mom got me "Have Broom, will travel"
I find all religions have great lessons and ethics to live by. Mine is Wicca and here are some I reread recently that I really think are good universal ones as well.
HONOR all as everything you do good or bad comes back to you three times.
HONOR Deity always, both as Goddess and as God. Revere the sacred spark of life, which is within you and within all things. Revere also the sacred dance of life, which is manifest as the physical world.
HONOR the Earth, Nature, and Her processes. All life is sacred, and the entire Universe is one Being, Whose soul is Gaia. All, which exists, is eternally and inseparably connected through the Spirit of the Goddess and the Dance of the God.
HONOR the Divinity within you. Do not pollute your sacredness with hatred, nor with falsehood. Be honorable, fair, and truthful in all things. Strive always to act from your Higher Self, in Perfect Love and Perfect Trust.
HONOR the Divinity within others. We are all sacred, all manifestations of Deity. Therefore follow always the Wiccan Rede: "Do as you will, but harm none."
WIDGETIZE