If I’m writing about you. Don’t take it personally. Take this opportunity to learn.

You ask for a credit to the shopkeeper, he denies it
Don’t take it personally, somebody might not have paid him the debt before.

You overtake somebody on road at some speed, he yells at you to ride slow
Don’t take it personally, he must have lost somebody in an accident.

You ask your dad for a new bike, he denies it politely
Don’t take it personally, maybe he has a fall in his business.

You ask a girl for her number, she denies it
Don’t take it personally, maybe somebody before had harassed her as she shared her number.

You ask out a girl for a Hangout, she denies it
Don’t take it personally, maybe somebody tried to rape her before.

You ask a girl you’re dating to get into commitment, she denies it
Don’t take it personally, maybe she had a brutal heartbreak.

You give a little pat surprisingly to your friend, he slaps you back
Don’t take it personally, maybe somebody died in his home.

All of this happened to me.

If taken personally I would had lost so many people in my life.

People are never wrong, it is the situations which makes them wrong.

——

You get on the bus. You accidentally bump into a man. He puts his face right next to yours and yells. 

You are a fucking idiot! Watch where you put your feet, you moron! 

It’s hard not to take this personally. He’s yelling in your face. He’s calling you names. He looks like he might get violent.

You don’t know this, but that man was laid off from a job he had been working on for over two decades. He has been trying to get another one, but he can’t catch a break. He’s worried about providing for his family. He walks around trying to fill his days, feeling useless, invisible.

Him yelling at you had nothing to do with you.

The guy (or girl) you are dating doesn’t trust you. He keeps his distance, plays it safe. You try to be worthy of his trust but it doesn’t seem to make a difference.

You don’t know this, but before he met you he was badly hurt. He’s been cheated on, lied to, betrayed. His trust issues are his to resolve. They have nothing to do with you.

You begin to learn that nothing is personal when you understand that people have a history that began before they encountered you. When you can see they are hiding behind walls, tall, solid walls originally erected to protect themselves. 

Other people’s walls are not your problem. 

Which is a good thing, because dealing with your own is a full time job