Frankl’s video last week got me thinking about the flip side of the coin. As Frankl pointed out, if we take man as he is we make him worse, (because people have too many influences and pressures upon them to always hit their target) but if we take him as he should be we make him capable of becoming what he can be. I love that. The flip side that hit me this week relates to how others impact us. Too often we have a tendency to let the behaviors of those around us influence us and bring us down to their level.
Once at a dinner party, several of us started talking about the command to “turn the other cheek,” and how odd it seemed to us. “Really?” we said, “turn the other cheek? Just allow someone to keep hurting us? They hit us on the right and we’re just supposed to stand there and take one on the left?” Surely that couldn’t be what was meant.
One woman off to the side then spoke up, with a directness that belied years of personal experience and silenced our light bantering on the meaning of these wise words. She said something profound. “Turn the other cheek means ‘don’t become one of them.’ It’s not about standing and taking the hits; it’s not about letting someone kick you and asking for more. It doesn’t say you can’t run away or block the punch. It’s a call to remain yourself–to not let the hurt another inflicts upon you to change your behavior or value, or convert you to one of them. Maintain your integrity, and do not become like those who cause the harm.”
Last week, Viktor Frankl’s wise words spoke of how we can take people for how they can and should be. This week I challenge you to do the same with yourself, to hold yourself to a higher standard and to give yourself permission and celebration for whatever level you reach.
