Nancy Stoops and Midnight

By Nancy Stoops

Over my lifetime, I have gotten hurt from time to time.  Many times, I will think one way and somebody else will see things differently.

I know I hurt myself when I hang on to the hurt when somebody disappoints me, or I disappoint them.  I have come to understand that we are all human and we all make mistakes.

This last year, when I had my near death experience, I changed.  I have always appreciated my life, but now more than ever.  I don’t want to waste time being hurt or angry.  I want to learn to deal with things as they hurt me, and learn to let go of them.  I want to be free of anything that isn’t productive for me.  I guess coming so very close to death has really changed my perspective, and has made me a healthier being.

I find I keep my relationships cleaned up because I have learned how very fragile we are, and that we just don’t know when our time here will be over.  I have learned that it doesn’t matter who is right or who is wrong, as long as we are lucky enough to surround ourselves with those that love us and those that we love.

People seem to believe there is disgrace in admitting you are wrong and just apologizing to someone.  I am learning it can be a very humbling experience.  I don’t want to live my life with any bad feelings between myself and another human being.  I know I am going to make more mistakes and I will be doing more apologizing.  I know I will need to be forgiving, and hope others can be forgiving with me as well.

I hope this article will inspire you to forgive or ask for some forgiveness.  I hope reading this will help you understand how precious our time here is.  I want to spend my time here being happy and peaceful, not hurt or angry.

This article was written by Nancy Stoops M.A., M.F.T.  Nancy is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.  She has a private practice in Diamond Bar and is currently accepting new clients; she is also a motivational speaker who can inspire your employees or group members.  Nancy runs free family support groups, including a group on loss for seniors, and groups on how to manage anger. For more information about any of these services feel free to contact her at (909) 229-0727, or via email at nancyjstoops@verizon.net.  Nancy’s books, “Midnight the Therapy Dog,” and “Live, Heal and Grow,” are available at Amazon.com.