World of Seethe

Something strange is happening to me.

It’s not the gray suddenly sprinkling through my beard.
It’s not the fact that my last few crushes have been on women 15-20 years older than me.
It’s not that I’m launching into yet another economically challenging adventure.

It’s that I no longer enjoy seething over perceived bad behavior of others.

I had a couple things happen this week: an employee was disrespectful and inappropriate, a client was/is seriously delinquent… a couple other things… all of which used to be the kind of thing that I would obsess over: Did I respond correctly? Did I get the last word? Did I WIN?

This isn’t to say that I don’t care about these things. I do. But I care less about the latter two then I ever have before. I even let the employee get the last word in, obnoxious as it was. And I didn’t pull out the Patent-Pending Rich@Championable Written and Verbal BeatDown Stick. I stated my point and that was it.

Bonus: None of these things kept me up at night, and none of ‘em are bugging me too much today.

This is kind of huge for me. My family LOVES to seethe. My father LIVES for it. He stays furious for days… even months at a time. And he can hold a grudge for decades. This is no exaggeration, and it’s sad. My father defines people in two categories: good and evil… and you can go from one to the other instantly and irrevocably.

The thing is: most people aren’t good or evil. It’s not that simple, and thank goodness for that. But what's more important: I seriously doubt anybody out there obsesses over their little contacts with me... so what the hell am I obsessing over, anyway? My energies are better spent on work, family, and annoying the crap of those I actually love.

Love to all. Even you, the guy on the 5:30am train with the super-loud headphones.