Sow Bad, Reap Good?

"Damn woman in glasses!"

That's all I managed to hear as I was driving through a narrow street, while a taxi driver waited for me to pass.

I clenched my teeth, ready to fire back the same way, then I stopped myself.

A thought flashed through my mind instantly: "Seriously? Do you want to get into an argument with him? Maybe chase him across town? :D"

I realized that for a long time, this is exactly what I used to do — putting my nerves into a fight instead of doing something constructive that would help both me and the people around me.

I remember once feeling awful for half a day after a random argument like that with a guy on the street, unable to focus on anything I had to do.

You know, you can't find good by doing bad. It's like planting corn and expecting to harvest wheat.

The old saying "as you sow, so shall you reap" couldn't be truer.

Every thought or deed you send toward someone else comes back to you in equal measure.

Do you think it doesn't count if the other person doesn't see or hear you?

Wrong!

There's no way to harvest happiness by putting down the people around you.

And then you complain, "ugh, nothing's going right for me," "but what did I do wrong, I'm kind, I don't hurt anyone." Yet you conveniently forget all those thoughts, curses, and other things you said about the other person?

You don't answer hatred with hatred. At best, you answer it with indifference or amusement.

You might say you tried and it didn't work, but did you really try? For how long? Until the change happens within your own soul, nothing will change on the outside either.

And if you're waiting for the other person to change first, you'll be waiting a long, long time.

I believe the poorest people are the ones who do this, scattering unkindness around them. They are so unhappy and unfulfilled that they take revenge on whatever crosses their path. When I say "poor," I don't mean their bank account, I mean their inner wealth — how at peace they are with themselves.

I used to often say, "well, if they provoke me, am I just supposed to say nothing?"

Well, that's exactly the secret: not reacting.

Every morning in traffic, it's as if everything turns into a jungle: everyone shouting from behind their car window, each thinking they're smarter than the other. I'm "+," you're "–," like a children's game — we practically stick our tongues out at each other 😄

And now I sit and wonder: we complain about politicians, about bosses, about neighbors, about envious people, and so on — but what do we do when we ourselves are provoked?

We forget to be HUMAN. We want a better life and happier, kinder people around us, but what do we actually do to make that happen?

We just complain, judge, curse, condemn, and smirk with glee like little devils when our so-called "enemy" gets what's coming to them. In the saddest cases, we even work hard for success just to prove to someone else how smart we are. We build sandcastles — but what will we do at the first storm?

Now let me ask you:

What foundation are you building today?

What are you sowing for tomorrow?

What do you want your descendants to be like?

All I can do is thank that taxi driver for inspiring me to write this article 🙂

Warmly,

Ralu

P.S. If you have examples of times you resisted answering in kind, please share them in a comment to inspire others too 🙂