Who Originally Cast The Words

"Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal

with the intent of throwing it at someone else;

you are the one who gets burned."

Gautama Buddha

My friend, a woman scorned, was frothing at the mouth with anger, fire and rage.  Her breath was short and her face contorted as she stormed back and forth in her unnaturally rigid body.  I sat quietly, listening to her story over and over, realizing she would never hear anything I might say.

When this woman had her feelings squelched, she lost all sense of self.  She allowed the unkind words to strike her confidence down, diminish her core, and badly bruise her ego.  In time she was simply wallowing in self-pity.  As her friend, it was difficult to watch, but I knew in my heart she was not yet ready to heal.

As long as we give power to ill spoken words, we will not move on.  By dwelling on hurtful utterances, we forget our own ability to not be sucked in by others negativity.  When we remember who we are ... goodness, compassion, love ... we are able to step away, acknowledging the pain truly belongs to the one who originally cast the words and we can do nothing about it ... except to let go.