After looking at the last post, now I have something new to be angry/upset about. It’s been too long since I’ve visited here.
Onward to what has driven me to write a blog posting at 1:11 a.m. knowing it’s going to be insane outside my bedroom window in a few hours.
Years ago I read something which has stuck with me, and to paraphrase…that which makes us angry in others is something we dislike/become angry about within ourselves. Basically, what I see in you, which bothers me, is a mirror of that sameness I see and dislike in myself.
Mirror? Sameness? Or the opposite side of the same coin?
I’m a rule follower. I have a memory I wish would forget some things more than it ever remembers them. What gets me angry are those who don’t keep to the rules. I believe in what is good for the gander is good for the goose…goose to gander, don’t give me a double standard or action that thumbs your nose at what you’ve been told.
Okay, simple thought…just don’t let it bother me. Ignore. What’s the big deal? What is it about the rule breaker that drives me around the bend?
Simple…You Don’t Break The Rules!
Now, I’m not talking comma rules or the don’t climb a tree or even wear your helmet. I’m talking the rules which impact others around you. Rules that if broken may never have a negative reaction, but the possibility is still there. A serious even potential deadly possibility. Sure, tell me I’m over-reaching, but if it’s your family member in the ambulance that’s racing down the street and you’re the one not moving over…welllll, hello, those seconds can make a life difference.
Going back to my reading of years ago…nope, I’m not a “big/major/legal” rule breaker. So, that’s not the mirror image I’m seeing in the one who pi**es me off.
It’s the fact I can’t bring myself to break one…any?…of these rules.
Does this make me a holier-than-thou snit or conscientious? Am I a tight-arsed prig or someone who cares that someone might get hurt cause of someone’s non-thinking?
Strangely, my ego won’t let me think of my beliefs/actions as being positive. It’s easier to think I’m being a snit and prig cause I’m “telling.”
Why?
Because that’s something we’ve trained into ourselves. Or maybe just some of us?
What’s the big deal if junior has a couple of beers underage? What’s the big deal if junior is out in the streets till whatever time? What’s the big deal if junior doesn’t wear a helmet? What’s the big deal if _______…
Rule lover you’re boring, you’re ruining everyone’s fun, you’re making a big deal out of nothing, you’re ______…
And that’s the mirror I see when I look closer at the rule breaker. I see myself in a negative light.
HOWEVER…if that ambulance is rushing my family member to emergency or rushing to help my family member. If it’s my child who gets hurt because you blocked someone’s line of sight. If it’s your child who actually caused the accident I’m being charged with, cause they thought weaving down the road was fun.
Yeah, call me a snit or a prig or a b*tch.
Rule breaker please just use at least one of your brain cells and think about why there’s that rule in the first place. Open your eyes beyond your own immediate “must have wants” “can’t be bothered” “inconveniences” and look at the larger picture.
Oh, and don’t come back at me with attitude and excuses. You’re just pi**ed cause you know you’re breaking the rules and someone called you on it.