Thought of the Day #13

Being aware of a single shortcoming within yourself is far more useful than being aware of a thousand in someone else. — Dalai Lama

When I was 16 I watched High Fidelity with my dad and stepmom. It was so boring. I hated it. But when I happened to watch it again in my 30s, it took on a whole new meaning.You see when I turned 30, I started doing a lot of soul searching. And although I didn’t like most of the conclusions that I came to, they were all true. I had been placing so much blame for my current life on other people, never once acknowledging that I was always the other half of the equation.

Watching that movie triggered something in me. It was as if I was in a 12 step program and needed to make ‘amends’. I called everyone I could think of and basically apologized for being myself for my entire life. That first call was the hardest, but as I made more and more over the weeks they became easier. Some people thought I was joking others took it as a serious apology. One person was inspired to write an article about it.

I still sometimes laugh about those phone calls, but overall, they were a big step in confronting a lot of my shortcomings.