Back to back life lessons
This is more of a "write it down so I don't forget it" post.
I had a dream today that I learned something from. I'm actually a bit amazed at that since I haven't often had dreams that convey a life lesson. But in this one I found myself the recipient of a gift as part of a friendly gathering. In the course of the gathering I got into the beginnings of an argument with the person who gave me the gift. But instead of staying and arguing I decided to politely recuse myself. I did that for the sole reason of trying to be nice. In my waking life I have the same tendency, to withdraw from situations involving conflict. But what I learned in the dream is how that isn't always the best response. Removing myself from a situation prevents me from making any headway in regards to learning. Not just about the subject matter being argued about but gaining life experience I can use to better myself. In the dream I regretted leaving and not continuing to argue with the person because I was beginning to realize how the same intensity that helps me in other areas, say writing software, isn't quite so useful in regards to personal relationships.
The other thing I've learned recently concerns my cat, forgiveness, and in general the letting go of deeply felt feelings that in some way I've discovered don't serve me well anymore. I'm not going to get into what my cat did to prompt things because I don't want the focus of this post on that, but I'll say she did things to piss me off thoroughly and perhaps your imagination can fill in the gaps. But after all that she made motions to be petted and meowed to be near me. The magical moment is when I dropped my wall of anger and liked her again. It was a split second realization that the initial anger I felt had run its course and no longer needed to be expressed. So continuing to do so was making it detrimental rather than being an honest expression of feelings like it initially was. That realization, small as it was, is at the core of forgiveness it seems. I've actually noticed quite a few areas in my life where I choose to push and accentuate the anger I feel long past the incident that prompted it. It's an odd thing really. It's like there's an attachment that develops betwixt the anger and myself, so letting it go is like saying...I was wrong. And we can't have that, now can we. :P