Wait, did that just happen?

I am still in disbelief of this whole scenario, and I am hoping by putting it out there for you all, together we can make sense of it. I cannot remember the last time someone was outwardly mean or malicious towards me, and last night was apparently my refresher course. The details of what transpired are not really important, but what is important is how I am choosing to deal with what I am feeling.  

Initially, I was so caught off guard by the fact that adults could so easily act like children in the midst of a temper tantrum, that I was somewhat amused, but after the initial shock wore off, I began to realize that despite the absurdity of the whole situation my feelings were hurt, initially.

Logically, I know that what when someone goes out of their way to minimize someone else, it rarely has anything to do with the person who is intended to be hurt and humiliated, and everything to do with the fact that the person doing the hurting is so low that they must bring others down in order to feel better about themselves. I do firmly believe that what happened to me last night was not about me, but rather about someone trying to make themselves bigger by knocking me down. Well, you know what I say to that? Try again.  I am so proud of who I am and of how I choose to show up in the world, that mean-spirited people cannot derail me.

In the light of day, I am realizing that my hurt feelings are coming more from a place of feeling sorry for this person and not because I am internalizing what was said to me.  I choose to see the good in people and want to surround myself with like-minded folk, and last night was a reminder that not everyone is good and it is important for me to be cautious.

My questions for you this morning are these:

When people cut you down, how do you choose to respond?

What is important for you to remember when you find yourself in a situation like this?

What is the grander lesson here?

I hope you are all enjoying your weekend, hope to hear from you,

Talia