The Best Thing I did Last Christmas
Forgiveness is a virtue of the brave. – Indira Ghandi
The best thing I did last Christmas had nothing to do with family gatherings, food, music, lights… or what was under the tree.
In fact, it wasn’t public at all.
Last Christmas – after a particularly painful conversation with someone I wasn’t sure I could trust – I realized I was carrying something… heavy. Without trying, I’d found myself in… let’s call it tension, with a few key people – and one of them called me out.
I didn’t know where the tension came from. Perhaps it was gradual, like a stack of tiny rocks I’d collected over the few years I’d known these people. I thought I’d stuffed it away, or even ‘dealt with it,’ and yet here I was, less than a week from Christmas, and the rocks had spilled all over the main part of my life.
There was no escaping it.
And I knew I had a choice: continue in the tension, try to pretend it wasn’t there, or try and diffuse it.
Those of you who’ve ever been married know that the best way to escalate a fight is to: 1) defend yourself, or 2) leave.
The only way to diffuse it?
Swallow your pride, stay in place, and try to understand the other person. Read more
Lana Meredith 