A Shift in Perspective

There is this girl in my class,
who used to bug the shit out of me.
I strongly disliked her.
I couldn't stand her voice.
I wanted to punch her.
So I chose to not talk to her at all.
I would get annoyed, and leave the room,
or listen to music.

This resentment and anger was getting in the way
of having fun at school.
Wanting to punch someone is not very fun.
When in times of resentment,
I've been directed to turn my attention to others -
and in this case,
meant getting to know this girl.

So I asked how she was.
Asked about her boyfriend.
Asked about her life.
Was intently curious.
And I continued to do this all semester.
And ya know, instead of hating her quirks,
I learned how to love them.
I learned how to have compassion for her,
and joke and have fun with her too.

And I realized - guess what ?
It was me all along.
There was absolutely nothing wrong with her,
it was me -
I wanted her to be something she wasn't ...
and when I opened my eyes, heart, and became willing,
she became quite beautiful and fun and sweet.

It's funny how something so simple -
asking how someone is doing -
can change our perspective of that person
so drastically,
But more importantly,
can change our perspective of OUR
situation so drastically.

Now the best part of this story,
is that I was able to use this experience
to help someone who was having a hard time
with someone in her life.
And success - it worked.

Now the girl in my class has become even more
of a gift - she's gold.
Not only was she able to help me - help me see -
but she was able to help me help someone else.
!!