Thursday, June 11, 2009

Avoid the Appearance of Evil

I never really applied this to a social situation. That is until now. I got into this sticky situation yesterday. I was sitting next to a person who was complaining about McKayla's t-ball coach. I brought up an unsatisfactory situation that had happened with me, but then I tried to go on to explain how the situation was fixed and talked about. I then went on to say how impressed I am with McKayla's coach. She is so calm and McKayla adores her. Later that day I called the coach and she informed me how her husband listened to everyone bash his wife during the game. I feel so bad that I even listened to the the person say anything negative. I think the lesson I learned is that some people are never happy with others. Some people are in a state of judging and no amount of trying to help them see the silver lining is going to help. The second thing is that even though I was trying to say positive things, only the negative things were heard. Now I am sad and feeling guilty, but I will be sure never to make the same mistake twice. I think sitting by myself and avoiding others might be the best course of action.

2 comments:

Sarah Sharp said...

That is a very sticky situation to be in. I usually am very rude and interrupt the complainer with another topic of discussion. Sometimes it works, sometimes, it doesn't. Hate being there, though. I totally understand how you feel.

Brooke said...

I'm going to argue with you just a little bit. I think it would be better to sit with others and when they start being negative, you tell them to stop. Point out to them the example they are setting. Tell them that if they think they can do better then maybe they should try. I think standing up is better than sitting down quietly and letting the negativity continue. I don't know which opinion is right, but I thought I would throw in my 2 cents. :)