I’ve been watching Grey’s Anatomy for the past few weeks. I’m enjoying it; it’s often funny, sometimes darkly funny. Sometimes it’s just dark. Some scenes have had me in tears!
One thing I find difficult to watch though is the focus of the characters on how other people’s actions affect them emotionally. So many times the characters are enveloped in their own bubbles of self-interest, lashing out at each other for perceived wrongs when the other person hasn’t meant to hurt them, or the situation required someone to make a rational decision rather than favour their emotional needs. They take it personally and my goodness they don’t handle it well!
I’m on series 12 and I have watched these fictional characters break up, get back together and split up again. I’ve seen people never get together from fear of potential heartache. I’ve witnessed them blame each other and project their pain or personal values onto unrelated situations and make decisions based on assumptions or emotions without knowing the full facts. It’s infuriating to see them stuck in their self-involvement and unnecessary pain when as an objective viewer I can see a more helpful path! 🤦🏼♀️
How often are we like this? How often do you react without looking at the bigger picture? Who have you blamed for not considering your needs, without taking into account their situation? Are you projecting your values on someone without honouring their right to think differently or have their own needs? Do you blame God, Lady Luck or the Universe for dealing you a bad hand? Who are you making wrong so you can feel right? ⚖️
It’s not easy stepping back but before you react with anger and blame, before you withhold love or contact, before you make that rash, emotional decision, take a moment to consider the issue from another perspective. Take the emotion out of it. See the bigger picture. Breathe in, breathe out, and remember, it’s not personal.
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