Revulsion - Accepting Other’s Faults

Have you ever been in a public place and had someone clear his sinuses right behind you? To me, that sucking sinus snort is extremely off-putting. I have a physical response to the sound, as if an unappealing stranger has just blown his nose on my shoulder. How does this feeling of revulsion fit into a world of love and respect?

I had no good answer until my daughter helped me one day. I had been grocery shopping and a man, who was constantly snorting, followed me around the store. My daughter noticed my discomfort and asked about it when we left. I was still spinning from the event and exclaimed, “It’s just so rude and nasty!’

My daughter asked, “Like when my sister keeps me up at night sniffling?” Well, that was the trigger. You see, I had been up dealing with their bickering every night for a week and could see that my daughter’s response was just like my snorting response. The irritatio
I felt towards the man instantly disappeared and understanding replaced it.

I said, “You know, I think it is the same. People do some pretty gross stuff. Humans snort, sniffle, snore and burp. We can make smells and messes. It’s part of being a human and in my opinion it’s not the best part. So what do we do? Move out to the middle of nowhere away from people? Wouldn’t you miss having someone to play with?”

“Yes, Momma.”

“Me too. So what do we do then?”

We sat silent for a minute.

I whispered, “Sweetness, I’m going to make a change.”

“What?”

“I’m gonna change my perspective. When someone snorts, I’ll remind myself that I want to be around people more tha
I want to be away from that noise.” After I said that, I had a really strange feeling - gratitude towards the snorting man! Can you believe it?

I felt grateful because if he hadn’t snorted, I might not have had that conversation and new understanding. What do you do when you feel rattled by the world around you?

Living in love doesn’t require us to ignore our instinctual responses to situations. In fact, living in love requires that we hear and feel both the pleasant and unpleasant messages of our bodies and our environment. Remember that each message is a teacher and a gift to help us grow.

So, that’s my answer. What’s yours?

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