I want to offer my most sincere token of gratitude to the horrible people I have met in my life. The ones who try to put me down, jab at my feelings, insult me, try to lower my standing among my peers and who work hard at succeeding at nothing more than being bad people.
Because of you I have the opportunity to grow. I am challenged to act how I see fit rather than merely react, and I can go beyond being an immature child to see that taunts and insults are weak attempts at twisted personal gratification.
Sure, I can disclose embarrassing information or say hurtful things but that means regressing as an individual. So let’s repay the negativity with positivity and thank those who allow us to appreciate life a lot more.
Without the horrible people, let’s call them Urgs, then the amazing people you encounter in life might go unnoticed. Urgs are abundant, sometimes hiding in plain sight pretending to be what they are not to some, and revealing their true skin to others. You can only avoid being an Urg if you treat everyone the way you expect to be treated (no double standards).
Thank you, Urgs. Every time one tries to harm me I am awarded with the opportunity to train the character I aim to have. You can’t claim to be honest unless a challenge has made it difficult to say the truth. If you live day by day without being challenged then you aren’t learning or even “being” anyone in particular. To foster the highly desirable traits of goodness, honesty, compassion, understanding, open-mindedness, tolerance, etc you need to be faced with situations that force you to make a choice. So ask yourself, how do I want to be known tomorrow based on my actions today?
And don’t forget to thank the Urgs in your life.
Melisa
Illustrated by Meli 