openpolitics.com

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So many people have asked me, “do you ever get mad?”
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And of course I answer well, yes!
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Everyone gets mad sometimes.
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The important thing is what we do with the mad that we feel in life.
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A few weeks ago on my way home from a
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particularly tough day at work
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I stopped to see my two grandsons.
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Their mom and dad weren’t there
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but the boys were there with the babysitter
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in the backyard squirting water with hoses.
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I could see that they were really having fun
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but I felt I needed to let them know that
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I didn’t want to be squirted. So, I told them so and little by little
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I could feel that the older boy, Alexander, was testing the limit
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until finally, his hose was squirting very close to where I was standing.
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I said to him in my harshest voice,
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“Okay, that’s it! Alexander turn off the water. You’ve had it!”
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He did as I told him, said he was sorry and looked very sad.
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The more I thought about it, the sadder I got.
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I realized that Alexander had not squirted me
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and that I had stepped into his and his brother’s play
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with a lot of feelings left over from work.
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So when I got home, I just called Alexander on the phone.
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I told him I felt awful about my visit with him
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and the more I thought about it, the more
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I realized that I was taking out my anger, from work, on him.
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I told him I was really sorry.
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Do you know how he answered me?
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He said, “Oh Bubba?” He calls me Bubba.
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“Oh Bubba, everybody makes mistakes sometimes.”
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I nearly cried. I was so touched by his naturally generous heart
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and I realized that if I hadn’t called him,
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I might not have ever received that wonderful
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gift of Alexander’s sweet forgiveness.
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(Video fades to white background with text)
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Forgive others while you can.
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Forgive others because life is too short to stay angry. Share this video.
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Stay Inspired.