I stand amazed to this day that we allow other people so much control of our moods. How often have we heard that said, or said it ourselves?
Most of us take that statement to mean others control us. That’s a lie except in extreme cases – and yes, there are extreme cases out there. This is not about those. This is about everyday living.
When other people let us down – or don’t like us – or don’t like something we do- or put us down, we react negatively inwardly, outwardly, or both. Our emotional self often accept other people’s judgements of us quickly, casting aside what we know to be true about ourselves. Yes, sometimes there is truth in their put downs, but often, it is their perceptions of how things should be or even, at times, unacknowledged jealousy on their part.
This is where judgement is a good thing: when we use it ourselves – not against them, but on whether there is some truth to their put down or if their dislike of us/our actions is/could be based on something in their life rather than on us. It is in that careful judgement of the situation and personalities involved that we have control of our own moods. Sure, it is still a downer that someone doesn’t like us or doesn’t want to be around us or could care less about what we may be excited about, that is human nature – but by stopping to be an observer before we let the emotions fly free, it may just not hurt as much or we may see what they see. Either way, we win a battle in the war of emotions.
Yeah, I’m moody as heck now, didn’t stop to observe or judge quite fast enough, but hindsight and sitting outside in the cool breeze under bright blue sunlit skies on a deck beside a pool with sunlit rippling on one side and a peaceful canal on the other helped. It also made me want to play hooky from everyday life to go play!





