PEOPLE WITH BAGGAGE

I just had another birthday this week and over the years I've gotten into the habit of contemplating my experiences and deciding which ones determine ultimately who I am becoming. It does mean that I need TIME to reflect and of course you know by now that I do that best in hot water -literally.

Soooooooo I was taking a bath on my birthday this week and it occurred to me that I may have some issues with people who leave nasty messages on my phone. For one - when they hang up they feel better because they just dumped a bunch of crap but I feel rotten because the craps on me and the longer I wait before addressing it the worse I feel until I do.

It's a nasty technique to use and I was wondering why it's not one that I have adopted? And then I knew. It's like a release valve on a pressure cooker ( I used to have one of those to can salmon when I lived in Alaska) If you allow the temperature to go too high the pot will blow. What you watch is the little toggle cap on the steam valve that tells you the pressure is steady and just right.

You see if I have a problem with someone I should have the guts to say it to their face which is difficult for me. Instead, I leave the relationship for awhile until I'm ready to talk about how or why I felt the way I did. But I'm willing to talk about it, probe the past if necessary, get to the proverbial bottom if you will to find the solution.

There are two different ways to deal with hot steam. You can ignore the toggle cap and just let it blow or you can read the signs and adjust the temperature periodically to maintain the cooking pressure. Both will render the original ingredients tender, but which one will be edible?

Which brings me back to assessing my issues once a year as I age gracefully into the sunset. I guess I have come in contact with some people who refuse to adjust the heat in their life. The ones that never see themselves with over limit baggage. But if they took a little time to reflect perhaps they may notice a pattern of habits that hurt - without allowing any opportunity for defense, they explode at others to feel better. That's the evil part. They enjoy dumping their baggage all over everyone else. Randomly sometimes and deliberately on others.

That's not how I want to live at all. I like to travel lite anyway. Just me - and my bathtub.
Mothergoose