Now you might be surprised (or might not) to find out that this remains one of my favorite pieces of literature to date. Before you dismiss this statement or stop reading this post, give me a second to explain why.
This book like so many others of its kind, holds a powerful life lesson which has helped shape my character up to now. Believe it or not (LOL) i've been described with such words as "jerk", "a-hole", "heartless", etc. (You get the point). Now while I will be the first to admit that I'm no Mr. Rogers...nor am I Adolf Hitler. I'm just a regular (somewhat) guy who refuses to pretend to like people that I don't or allow people space in my life that have proven to be unworthy. Don't blame me, blame the book!The basic message of the book (For those of you who STILL haven't read it) is that if you give a mouse a cookie, he's going to want a glass of milk. Once you give him the milk, he's going to want a napkin. And so forth and so on. I have learned over the years that people are just like that mouse. If you give a needy person one thing ONE time, they will look to you as a constant resource. Now, i'm all for being helpful, but there is a fine line between being helpful and being used. I guess you could say that I have a heightened sense of this after watching people get taken advantage of in nearly every way imaginable. And as a result, I tend to tell people NO! Then decide if I will help them, instead of giving a half-hearted yes only to stand that person up or back out at the last minute. I wonder...if that gets me called a jerk then what do you call people who just say yes because it sounds good? Wouldn't you rather get a pleasant surprise than an unexpected disappointment?
I guess the world is made better by people who go out of their way to help any and everyone at any cost, but as my mother always says: "I help those that are trying to help themselves." So with that said, to whom it applies: stop being annoying and getting mad at people because they don't do or give you everything you ask for! Self-reliance is a beautiful thing.
"Define yourself for yourself or when you're by yourself you just might lose yourself." -The Ryan
Ahh...that feels better.
Posts
First of all, I think that you are one of the nicest people I have ever known & most of the time you mean well haha. I was once told, "not everyone deserves to know you" (this is SO true). I can be very passive when it comes to friends and tend to let people in who have not proven themselves to be worthy. I am generally a good judge of character, but even when I doubt that people's motives are genuine I still give them a chance. Marilyn Monroe once said, "If you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best."
ReplyDeleteMoving on...This post has inspired me to JUST SAY NO! lol I often find myself doing things to appease others ("friends") because I feel obligated or think that they will be mad if I don't. The truth is, REAL friends understand.
With that said...(yes ANOTHER quote lol) Dr. Seuss once said, "Those who matter don't mind and those who mind, don't matter."
Good stuff ;)
And to think of all the cookies, milk and napkins I gave you growing up... :-) That whole Karma thing is something else isn't it? Well, I'm glad you found a place to vent. Your site looks nice. :-)
ReplyDelete