Day-11: A Swift Kick In The Crotch

No - I did not eat any food on Day-11 and I apologize in advance for the lack of levity in this post.

I struggle for the proper protocol when blogging the following day. Do I write in present tense or past tense? You'll notice that I sometimes bounce back and forth and for any grammar Nazis out there; I'm sorry.

Somebody very close to me recently made a purchase and I questioned its rationale. From my perspective, they overspent.  It is a quality product bought for a reasonable price, but the product is overkill and will always be overkill for what they need. I expressed my concerns and they rightfully retorted that they saved up, knew what they were getting, knew that it is overkill, wanted it anyway and is happy to have purchased it. I admitted that they were correct; I was sorry and I need to work more on filtering my thoughts, before they come out of my mouth. To which the kick in the crotch came:

"Maybe since not eating is so easy, you should of gave that (being unfiltered) up for Lent."

Candor - Often I struggle with sugar coating things, I nearly always call out the elephant in the room.  As I've gotten older, more established, experienced and professional, I've become more confident and even less aware of how people react to and feelings towards candor.

Sarcasm - With candor comes sarcasm and it's dangerous because often it is not well received. It is especially missed in text - since you can't text the tone of your thought / voice, a sarcastic text is nearly always taken the wrong way. 

Three times this week my Candor / Sarcasm has slapped me across the face by negatively effecting people that I care about. With the Bible, theologians are so confident in the symbolism and power of the number "3", that it is commonly accepted as rule of divine perfection.  Lent is about strengthening my relationship with God. If I can better myself than I can better my relationship with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To ignore what is so clearly a way to improve myself would be wasteful of the 11 solid-less days I've already endured and possibly cancel out the next 29. 

I can't say that without participating in Lent, my lesson learned on Day-11 would have missed, but I also can't say that it wouldn't have. Without my current journey I'm positive it would not have effected me as it has. I've spoken with candor and been sarcastic as far back as I can remember, its been a trait that many people both admire and hate about me. It is something that I use often and think more people should and I've always known that I'm in the minority with this thought.

I do not know how this is going to play out, how my personality will shift or even if it will. But I know where improvements await, I have an idea of where I need to go and most importantly, I know who to ask "how do I get there?"

Random Notes: Started the Day at 201 - will finish around 2100 calories. And for those stung by my sarcasm or embarrassed by my candor, I'm sorry to have hurt your feelings and will work to not hurt them in the future.