My Veiwpoint

I've been feeling a little down lately. I think this time of year is a little blah, especially if you don't have a lot of stuff to keep you busy. And sometimes even if you do have a lot of things to keep you busy, you don't want to do any of them because you feel blah. It's also been tough without Beary to keep me company. I'm sure we will eventually get another dog, but right now it seems impossible that I could ever find a dog half as wonderful as Bear was.

It will come as no surprise to most people that because of my shyness I struggle to communicate with other people. Sometimes that leads to serious misunderstandings or disagreements, and sometimes it leads to just a general lack of interest in me or my feelings. I know not everyone will like me, and I am fine with that. What I don't like is when people don't grant me the same courtesy or respect that I give them. You may disagree with me or even dislike me, but at least be respectful of me and try to see things from my point-of-view.

Many times I have run into people who treat me rudely or unkindly for no reason that I am aware of. My best guess is that I inadvertently did something to upset them, or they are just in a bad mood and they take it out on me or others around them. In either case it is completely unfair to not even hint to me where your aggression is coming from. How am I supposed to correct my mistakes if I don't know what is wrong? And how are you supposed to better yourself if you constantly take out your anger on innocent people?

We all have bad days, and even I occasionally slip and snap at someone for no reason or am rude for no reason. But if you catch yourself doing this over and over, you might want to take a step back and think what you can do differently. Think - How does the other person feel? What could be happening in the other person's life to make them feel upset? How can I react with kindness instead of vengeance? How can I make those around me more happy? How can I make myself more happy?

We can't control the actions of others. We can only control our own. But I truly believe that the things that will make others happy will also lead to our own happiness. So when we control our anger, we not only benefit others, but we benefit ourselves.