One Day at a Time in Al-Anon:
An interesting exercise, and one well worth a few moments of reflection, would be to consider the exact meaning of the phrase “to take offense”.
These words describe an act of willingly taking into ourselves a hurt we feel somebody intended to inflict on us. We take offense. We don’t have to take it. We are free to refuse to be hurt by a spiteful remark or malicious action.
So the whole matter really rests with us. The choice of accepting or rejecting an offense is ours alone.
Today’s Reminder:
It may not be easy at first, but if I keep reminding myself that I will not permit myself to be hurt by what anyone says or does, it can bring about an amazing change in my attitude and disposition.
Whenever I feel I am being hurt by someone, I will silently refuse to take offense, or take any action to retaliate. What a relief it will be to have such incidents vanish into thin air, leaving not a mark on me! I will not accept offense.
“What can words do to me unless I take them to heart?”