Today, I was thinking: “life is too short”. It really came about as a result of my husband doing something that really ticked me off…he thought he tried to spare me aggravation. Instead of asking me to run a few stitches to patch up our ripped boat canvas, he took it in for repairs without telling me. They ran 4 stitches and put in 3 patches and charge $200.00. After he picked it up, we looked it over, and then my work started. I have spent the last 3 days working on it by adding more pieces to it, customizing it, and making it into what it needs to be.
I could have brought it back to the shop where he took it for repair, but they would just charge me more. I did the hard stuff. I was really ticked off about paying for running a few simple stitches and then having to do the real hard work anyways. I took a moment to take a deep breath and remembered what a friend once pointed out to me: “will it matter 5 years from now?” Then, it occurred to me, that it wouldn’t matter in 5 years, and that life was too short for me to get all worked up about this.
I wish I could keep it in mind and make it my motto. It sure would make life easier, and keep our personal lives, marriages, and employment run smoother.
What I learned is that if something that has happened is not going to matter in 5 years time, then it’s not worth spending any time on now; less stress and fewer words to regret later. There are things in life that come up and bother us everyday (the time your husband left the toothpaste cap off for the thousandth time; the time that paint got spilled on your blanket etc.) Things that, in a few months, weeks, days, or even a short few hours later will have no significant impact on our lives, yet we invest unnecessary energy in them at that moment. Later, when we are beyond frustrated and are ready to give up, we think: “was that worth it?”-hopefully, we stopped to think before the damage is done and can’t be fixed with a simple “I’m sorry”.
That is the time to try to remember that “life is too short”. It is too short to be holding grudges, resentments, and anger (even if it is inside), and can eat us up like a disease, leaving us a sad and angry person for everyone to see. Instead, let’s pick our battles and promote health and happiness to all.
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I am with you. As a man it’s hard for us to learn, stop and think, but you do have some very valid points that I will be putting to the test and hope my marriage is better off from it… Great job Kate.
Glad you enjoyed it! Let’s put my motto to the test and let me know how it goes!