Maybe it's Time to Get Over it.

Throwing the box of kazoos is usually not a good idea.

But sometimes, you just want to throw the box of plastic kazoos anyway. At someone. The doofus at work who didn't know how to play one and decided to put it in his mouth to try it out, for one. (Due to the health laws in my state, we cannot take something back that's been put in the mouth. When I told him this, and that he had to pay for the item, well...let's just say it damaged our already fragile relationship.)

My point is...yeah, it's annoying when that guy walks into your store, ignores all the signs warning him, and promptly puts a brand new kazoo in his mouth. It's even more aggravating when he pitches a little fit because he has to pay for it.

It's frustrating when someone does something stupid, or mean, or hurtful.

And I've been lecturing about trying not to do that for months now. It's only polite. I mean, everyone knows how few polite people there are nowadays, and being part of an endangered species should make you feel special. But what about the people who just don't get it? The people who don't care, the ones who look right at you and do it anyway?

Well, they aren't going to go away. They just aren't. Even if most people are miraculously affected by my blog posts, and behavior takes a turn for the better, there's still going to be one grumpy-pants person that does whatever he or she wants at the expense of someone else.

So what do you do? Freak out and start a petition? Take it to heart and feel like the whole world hates you? Go after the person like they've mortally offended you and deserve social annihilation? Assume that you're a bad person and it's your fault they're treating you badly?

Please, no.

Just...no.

Being polite, being kind, is an important part of life. It's something we should all strive for. It makes living with each other until death a far more pleasant prospect.

However (yes, there's a however) we're all still imperfect, flawed beings trying to get along in a world where no two of us are the same. And, while blunt, angry people have their quirks that drive us all crazy, so do the rest of us. They might walk into a store and throw a tantrum because you don't do what they want. But is that better or worse than a person who holds it in, develops a grudge, and lets it color every aspect of their lives for who knows how long?

Is a person who is obviously a little cranky better or worse than a person who fakes it because they feel so pressured by the people around them to be happy all the time?

Someone who doesn't care diddly-squat what you think. Is that better or worse than the person who falls apart at every little implied criticism that flies out of your mouth?

I know some sensitive people. I'm not going to lie. And I've had some difficulties with it myself. But there's something important I learned from it.

While people who are in-your-face can be unpleasant to deal with, at least you know where you stand and why. You always know what bugs them, because they spout it at you every time you do it. You always know when they're unhappy and need cheering up, because they let it all hang out.

Being too sensitive is as much a problem as being too tough or insensitive.

We're not made of sugar. Rain won't make us melt. Something unpleasant shouldn't send us so off course that we obsess over it for days. Neither should something so small be something we feel the need to extract revenge for. We're not children fighting over the crayon box.

Little things sometimes bother you. I get that. I've dealt with it myself on a regular basis.

But it shouldn't control our lives. That grumpy customer didn't tie you up with puppet strings. In fact, if they're there at all, you probably did it yourself.

So think about it. Sometimes, we have to just deal with it, learn not to take it personally, or, even better, appreciate the differences in the people around us. They're not (most of them) after us with a criticism bazooka in an attempt to commit emotional murder, so stop acting like it. And maybe if you stop acting like it, the people who really do want to hurt you won't get any more pleasure out of it.

And, for that matter, what about the time you went shopping on a bad day? Did you snap at the cashier? Did you slam stuff on the counter? Did they say something that ordinarily wouldn't have fazed you, but on top of everything else that happened that day, was just too much?

You've been on the other side of it too, my friends.

Take a deep breath. Let it out. Realize that people are not the same as you. Realize that just because they are different is not an excuse to get all hurt and pouty like a kid in timeout. But, most of all, realize that if you get hurt feelings from someone being what you perceive as mean to you, you can control how hurt you are.

You can decide you aren't going to let it bug you.

The blame may lay mostly (and sometimes entirely) on the other person. But you can't fix them, can you? The only thing you can really do with benign rudeness or ill temper is to let it bounce right off, or take steps to avoid them. It's going to happen anyway. You can either be all hurt and sulky, or you can shrug it off, chalk it up to a bad day for them, and get over it.

I know which option sounds better to me.