Ever said that?
Ever said it and didn’t really mean it?
I’ll bet most of the time when we say, “I don’t care”, we really do.
And THAT’S the problem.

There’s nothing wrong with caring.
It’s a good thing and hopefully we all care about something.

But what about when it’s hurtful stuff being flung?
It would be so nice to just NOT care.
Then, I think there’s nothing wrong with NOT caring.

Not too long ago, a girlfriend and I met for lunch and a long overdue catch-up afternoon gab session
We sat and chatted as old friends do, and after catching up on each others lives, she emptied her heart of something hurtful that had recently happened to her. After a few tears, and finishing her story she kinda blurted out, “I don’t care!”

We spent a large part of our afternoon talking about something she said she didn’t care about?
Truth is, I think if she didn’t care, it never would have come up in conversation.
Or maybe a casual mention that we lightly commented on, maybe even joked about and then let it go.
But, she did care and it hurt.
I could see that, I could hear that.

So why do we say it when we don’t mean it and why can’t we really mean it?
How can we learn to not care about some things that are said to us and about us; things we really shouldn’t give a thought or care about anyways?
How do we do that?

Maybe not caring isn’t the lesson, maybe it’s my favorite…..acceptance.

Acceptance is a hard lesson to learn but once we master it, it’s a great catch-all for so many things that don’t feel good to us.
And in the long run, maybe acceptance is easier to learn than not caring.

It doesn’t mean anything other than, I accept this is who you are and how you feel.
It doesn’t suggest anything further than “Hey, that’s you’re opinion, you’re entitled to it.”
Doesn’t mean it’s true or not true, doesn’t mean you agree or disagree.

Shrug your shoulders, get a grip on YOUR reality and put it with all your other acceptance crap and move on.
Because in truth, it’s not yours to deal with.

Maybe when when we’re being emotionally punched we should hold tight to a few thoughts…..
Why respond to someone who’s being just plain nasty?
Whadd’ya gonna say?
What’s gonna be accomplished? Probably nothing positive (sad to say.)
Are they really gonna listen?
Does an overly good, overly kind, overly considerate, overly caring person need to respond?
Does she REALLY need to defend herself to someone who’s just hurling crap simply because that’s an angry person?

Maybe it’s just better to duck the emotional darts being thrown and consider the source….. possibly a mean-spirited, angry, maybe even jealous person?

Maybe it’s just better to be silent and go to a place inside where we can remind ourselves that the incident going on isn’t really about us. (We’ve read that a zillion times in articles, right?)

I heard this a long time ago and never forgot it.
It’s a great thought to keep on recall; WHAT YOU THINK OF ME IS NONE OF MY BUSINESS!!!

So, pull out the acceptance bag and throw it in there.
Just simply accept!
AND…..lock the bag shut so that crap doesn’t seep out.

Nasty people are not happy people.
Why on earth would ANY of us allow a nasty person to get into our heads and bring our spirits down?
Who allows that?

We can have all sorts of feelings for these mean-mongers who almost seem to enjoy trying to suck happiness out of us but for crap sake…..DON’T give them your heart to stomp on.

Why do we take something flung at us by someone we really don’t have much respect for so darn personal?
How do we unhook from that?
How do we let it bounce off of us and back to them?
It’s theirs after all, it came from them.

How ‘bout seeing it for what it really is?
Hearing it for what it really is?

Then open that bag and drop it all in.