Morning Muse 6: How can you be nice to people, who are mean to you? (Karma)

By being nice to people who are mean, you become a person with integrity, compassion, self -restraint and kindness. It is especially important to set and enforce clear boundaries with people who have a pattern of being disrespectful to you. Let the person know what you are not willing to tolerate and establish clear consequences if they fail to respect your boundaries.

Sometimes the rude person may be you. Don’t take it personally even if it is personal but find out why, be objective and analyse the rudeness. Let it drop and walk away. You can also forgive and then steer clear of them in future if you feel its in your best interest. In-fact mental health experts recommend forgiving those who have hurt you to improve your mental health and well being. It’s also important to let go of resentment. Holding onto anger and resentment will only damage your mental health and prevent you from moving on.

Remember that when healing a friendship, you also need to heal yourself. Meditation and controlling your breath through exercises help you process any complex emotions. Forgiving a friend won’t always be easy, and it may take some time for things to return to normal. Still, forgiveness and healing are possible if both you and your friend are willing to work on the relationship. And either way, your mental health will thank you for practicing forgiveness.

It is impossible for anyone to be always mean to you. If they are, then give them a prize. You will find that 90% of the time, they are nice. And maybe 10% mean. Have you been mean to someone forever? You are mean to someone for a month. See what happens - you cannot. You need to establish better communication. No complaints and no explanations. Don't ask for an explanation. No post mortem and accusing someone; 'You don't do this' and if you put pressure on them to prove their love, then how much of a burden is it for them? Never put such burden on anyone. Take it for granted. You have to kindle love in everybody. If you can't, then it's not their fault totally.