Well, this has been a kind of stressful week-end, but it paid off in the end. It gave me an opportunity to do some introspection and really think about what matters and what doesn’t.
After growing up surrounded by unkind, uncaring, hateful, hurtful people, I have managed to make a life for myself without those people in it. I have been isolated from that kind of behavior (for the most part) and I had forgotten that those people existed. I guess I got a little too comfortable, a little complacent and I allowed my guard to come down a bit too far.
I had forgotten what matters and what doesn’t and I guess I needed a little kick to remind myself. There will always be people in this world who mean to do you harm. You can’t avoid it. You can only take care of yourself.
But now I remember what matters to me and what doesn’t. Being kind to humanity. Doing the right thing, even when it’s difficult. Taking care of others. Being honest and fair. Those are the things that matter.
What doesn’t matter is people who will try to hurt you. People who don’t respect you and keep their commitments to you. People who think they have a right to impose themselves on you uninvited. Those are things that don’t matter.
I care about nurturing and developing the friendships that I already have and developing new ones where the opportunity arises, with people who will show respect and courtesy toward others. I care about doing the right thing and showing support for the right purposes and causes, things that will better the world. I care about the health and well-being of the people in my life. I care about making the world a better place.
I don’t care about the insults or opinions of small-minded, insecure people. I don’t care about trying to get through to people who aren’t interested in the first place. I don’t care about justifying myself to people and I don’t care about people who would judge and condemn, especially ones who do not know about what they speak.
This is my life and my world and I’ll live in it the way I believe is right. Others can come along, or they can follow their own path and leave me out of it. But I will not be swayed toward other people’s paths again. I will not stoop to their levels. I will not allow the behavior of others to negatively influence me.
It’s too bad I had begun to forget these things and that the reminder had to be such a tough one, but I’m better now. I know who I am. I know what I stand for. I know what matters. I know what I believe and I won’t be swayed by the arrogance and ignorance of others.
Riggledo 
Yes. Be true to yourself. It’s hard to be reminded that there are some who seem to need to go out of their way to hurt others. People like that are never going to change. The best you can do is walk away and just live the best way you know how.
I agree with what you said. I don’t understand why people go out of their way to hurt others either. People like that aren’t worth your time – time you could be devoting to those who really care about you.
Unfortunately, it looks like walking away is exactly what I’m going to have to do.