– Confucius
Recently, I was very surprised to see a spiritual teacher I really respect engaging in verbal battle with some critics on Twitter; the more he defends himself and strikes back, the more they attack him, and so it goes on and on and on. He now seems to be stuck in an endless debate that is ultimately going nowhere. It’s too easy to get sucked into a pattern of feeling attacked and counter-attacking, and it never proves positive. If someone has done something to upset you, hurt you or make you feel like you’ve been treated unfairly, do yourself a favor: don’t curse yourself by striking back. Instead, bless yourself by refusing to take it personally and focusing on all the people who love you and are good to you in countless ways every day.