SLOW POISON

By Christine Jayakaran

Ever heard of a type of poison that is slow acting but highly potent. It will not just affect the person who consumes it but will slowly poison those around the victim too. It will adversely affect quality of life and can cause fatalities if left unchecked. The name of this poison is BITTERNESS.

Bitterness begins as small hurts that when left unresolved can grow into huge festering sores. Gruesome image right?

A bitter person is a hard person to be around.

As someone who suffered from this poisoning I can honestly say that had I not snapped out of it when I did, bitterness would have engulfed me and swallowed me whole. Like I said earlier, staying bitter over a long time can cause fatalities such as the death of a marriage, friendships and a healthy wholesome life.

Funnily enough Bitterness is a poison that will re-surface again and again out of the blue until you smash it into oblivion.

Smash it how?

By stopping those small thoughts, that start off as harmless meanderings, in their tracks. You have the ability to say no to those thoughts that threaten to turn you into a zombie of negativity and anger.

I'm not trying to simplify the problem of the hurt that people inflict on us. I realise though that throughout our lives on earth we will have plenty of moments that can make us bitter.

The only way around this, I see, is to reaffirm to ourselves that people are inherently good and that we will not dwell on the past but look forward with hope.

I also have begun to surround myself with people who encourage and challenge me to go the extra mile and to stay faithful to my calling no matter what disappointments I face. Friendships like this and a mindfulness of my attitudes could well be the antidote for the venom of Bitterness.