Three little words that have gotten a lot of press recently: Let it go. They've become famous in the home of almost every young girl by the popular Disney movie "Frozen", and have been revived in a way that seems to mean, don't sweat the small stuff.
As we move through life, there are inevitably times when you're going to have to make a decision to move on, and let it go. It's impossible to imagine how the older term, "turn the other cheek" is not as meaningful to the younger generation, and in fact, those same words have become words that essentially mean that if you choose to turn the other cheek, you are being weak.
Further, the people that choose to apply this rule are in essence not defending themselves and are opening the door to ridicule by their peers. But when does not letting things go and not applying the rule turn the other cheek cross the line?
Why do we seem to have a nation and generation that believes that a disrespect or disagreement needs to be taken from words to violence and in some cases end even more tragically? It's not a weakness to walk away -- to choose not to engage in an argument that may turn into something more.
In fact, it takes more control and strength to walk away. It is hard to define a line of appropriate and inappropriate if we don't have strong, moral examples in our lives. And in fact when we read the newspapers, we learn about the constant bantering and bickering between the leaders of our nation. It now becomes easy to understand how the lines have gotten blurry.
Kids will always follow by example. You can say the right things over and over, but if you are not practicing, what you're preaching, it's not going to be effective. "Do as I say, not as I do" does not work.
It's challenging to learn how to handle domestic and life challenges in general. It seems to me that it may be a matter of practice makes perfect. No one likes to feel taken advantage of or walked over. No one wants to allow someone to be rude to them. And I'm not denying that there are some people that may go out of their way to push someone's buttons, just to see how far they can take it.
We are all human and we feel things deeply. We stand our ground and do what we can to protect ourselves, but reacting to every encounter and every argument is operating on the superficial level of who you really are. In essence, if you were to choose to let it go, you're operating on your highest level. And when you operate on your highest level, you don't have the need to fight every battle.
You have the ability to pick and choose them and understand how to operate within the boundaries that you have set for yourself. In fact, there's more power in holding your peace. I encourage you to make the decision to pick and choose your battles. Make the decision to let it go so that you can move on to the more important things in life. Your future is worth it and so are you.
Love and hugs.
o Bianca Carter is a certified lactation counselor (CLC), and founder of Bun in the Oven. For more information, give us a call at 601-6977 or visit us at the Harbour Bay Shopping Plaza, next to Starbucks. Follow us on facebook at babybunintheoven, email us at info@babybunintheoven.com, visit us at www.babybunintheoven.com.
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