"Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance." - C.S. LewisAnyone who truly knows me knows that I am a ‘people person’ and happiest when I am around other people. Before I moved to Iowa, I felt I made friends easily, where ever I lived or worked. Willing to be friends with almost anyone I met. In fact I truly believed that I could get along with everyone if I tried. I was extremely naïve and way too trusting when I moved from my hometown to someone else’s.
I would say that 99.9% of the people I have met in the last five years are really good people. In fact most people have been extremely nice to both my son and I. That, along with the excellent education for my son, has made us very happy and grateful for most of our experiences here. However for the first time of my life I actually met some truly evil people too. Five years ago I was totally unprepared for the hell I was about to experience.
At first I tried to see good in them, like I strive to do with everyone I meet. Then I thought maybe I was too sensitive and passive, letting their aggressive, manipulative personalities affect me. I even told myself that I needed to learn to ‘handle’ these pushy, controlling, and negative people in order to better my own people skills. But I didn’t need to deal with any of it. I just needed to walk away, and quickly! What do they say, ‘keep your friends close and your enemies closer’… I totally disagree with that statement!
There was a time not too long ago, when I couldn’t wait to be in social situations. Enjoying every conversation and interaction I felt fortunate enough to be involved in. I seldom worried about saying the wrong thing or having something I said taken out of context for a negative, hurtful purpose. It had never occurred to me that there were people who would twist a conversation around, change emails and lie, to intentionally damage someone’s life.
All from telling lies, spreading viscous gossip, and manipulating situations to suite themselves. The power of the ‘word’ for good and evil is so evident to me after experiencing ‘evil’ individuals first hand.
We all know that God brings good people into our lives! However the devil also brings people into our lives that are ‘evil’. These bitter, selfish souls never see anything wrong with their attitude and justify their horrible actions. That mind set is the most troubling to me and why I don’t want anything to do with them. I have learned to avoid, even reject these ‘evil’ people no matter how much they try to manipulative me into feeling guilty. Valuable life skills for me to learn.
I have come a long way from the passive, peace keeper of 5 years ago. I think that’s a good thing!
2 great articles on this subject is:
How to Spot Emotional Vampires
Manipulative People: Covert Aggressive Personality Disorder
Unfortunately, some people are just giant douchecanoes.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry that you have had these experiences. Unfortunately, those types that you have described are everywhere, with some parts of the country seemingly worse than others.
ReplyDeleteJane