If you can keep your wits about you while all others are losing theirs, and blaming you. The world will be yours and everything in it, what's more, you'll be a man, my son. -Rudyard Kipling
As we grow with life's experiences, it is often difficult to remain restrained and oh so easy to let loose when we come upon a perceived injustice. We respond swiftly sometimes with a sharp edged tongue and sometimes with a harsh action in order to "set things right". Often, when we have time to reflect or when others have time to correct we are able to view the experience in a new light. If we are open to the learning we come away with not only a greater understanding of the person, but also a greater understanding of ourselves. In this instance, we use the outcome to exercise our capacity for growth. Then there are the times when we allow ourselves to "dig our heels in" and hold on to anger and disappointment about how the person should have behaved in the first place. In this scenario, we walk away and wait for a full apology that may never come or may not come in a form we recognize. One might say we were blinded by our hurt feelings. Kipling would say "we did not keep our wits about us". The difference between a child and a mature adult is how we utilize our experiences to adjust our perspective. When we maintain our self control we are able to stay our course and achieve our goals. Furthermore, we display character worthy of our best selves. As we strive to leave our mark and leave the world a little better off for us having been here, we must remember to keep our wits about us as exemplary men and women. Until seven sunsets, "keep your wits about you" as you LYM (Leave Your Mark)..
-Mother LYM
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