Experience all things desired
Analyze, understand, and accept these experiences, distilling from them the love and wisdom within. The orientation develops due to analysis of desire.
The previous is a slight paraphrase of one of my, now, favorite sayings. It's been at the root for some of my more recent dealings with people. Seriously, I am really, really loving life right now. Mana for me is understanding, and I've been getting that in spades lately. Individual experiences added together to a mix, like ingredients to a dish. Individually the ingredients taste as they do, together they produce an entirely new flavor.
I was noticing today how my officemate reacts to me versus other people in expressing somewhat similar things. If I understand something to a particular degree and someone I'm talking to expresses that same idea with less precision but equal force, or will, I have a desire to correct them. I think, given my past experiences with people, that rubs them the wrong way more often than not. :) So it was very interesting to me today to observe her as she spoke with someone else about a problem. She was more animated and lively than if she were speaking with me. Perhaps due to an expectation that I'll more than likely talk her down, or in some way dismiss what she has to say.
For a long time that's bothered me. I want to be able to get along well with other people, so engaging in the behavior I do isn't necessarily conducive to that. But for whatever reason I keep doing it! LOL Also today a friend posted a note on Facebook musing about what he should do, how he should behave, about a particular issue. Whenever I see the word "should" in reference to behaviors it triggers something inside of me to respond. So I did, and I mentioned the saying at the beginning of this post. Engaging in a teacher role in that instance made me switch to the student role in regards my own behavior. I started taking my own advice, I started to be happy with who I am. Not happy so much that I naturally rub some people the wrong way, but happy that I no longer saw that as a problem. Also, meeting up with someone new over the weekend and talking with her made me realize the value and importance of being who you are.
I just love it when life experiences blend together to orient your thoughts in new directions! I'm actually glad I've experienced being humble and downplaying myself, because I can see how alluring arrogance can be in being okay with rubbing people the wrong way. How cold I could be in this not bothering me. Hopefully humility will temper arrogance. Not hopefully, it will, because that's what I desire. And what I desire I will experience. :)