My ears did not wish to hear what you said
My eyes grew tired of the view
I walked away
And the air became breathable again.
Why do we linger near things we revile
as our insides shrink
our minds rebel
and still we stand as if fixed in place
like statues that the birds find a perch upon
their excrement forming white runnels
Why do we not simply move away instead?
And let everything change
of its own accord
* The knack of becoming deaf and blind to the things we don’t want to hear or see, things that disturb us in conversation, on social media, or anywhere else where we cannot change the person or the circumstance, is a skill worth developing. There is much we cannot change.
But how can we become immune to the harpy, the critic, the gossip, the long-winded bore, the egotistical nitwit, the complainer, the person who is just plain toxic?
I was talking to one of the most peaceful people I know about this awhile ago
“Oh if someone is annoying me, I just walk away” she said.
And her solution sounded remarkably similar to my mother’s oft-quoted “turn the other cheek”.
We can hear this sort of advice millions of times, but unless we have decided to protect our peace at all costs – as a priority – then we can fall into the trap of drama instead. Perhaps the advice finally resonated with me because I have made that pact with peace. So simple. So easy. The serenity prayer personified.
Lord, give me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, The courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
Letting people be whomever they need to be in the moment while protecting our peace, and moving away from the circumstances that threaten it, is the best way to change everything subtly. It is the only way I have found it possible to “be the change” that Gandhi suggests we wish to see in this world. I have never altered a single person around me by commenting, but I’ve changed plenty by simply choosing to see the best and ignoring the irritating. Mostly, I’ve changed myself and that of course, made all the difference.
