THEIR PRESENCE AUTOMATICALLY LIBERATES OTHERS

 



“People inspire you, or they drain you.

Pick them wisely.”

Hans F. Hasen

 

I have, regularly, used the phrases - ‘toxic people’ or ‘a toxic person’. But, I have not so regularly paused to seriously ask - ‘Who are these?”

Yes, who are toxic people? Who is a toxic person?

And, just as I find someone toxic, do some find me toxic, too?

Thus, labelling someone as ‘toxic’ may portray me as judgmental...

You see, people behave differently to different people. I try to surround myself with those who lift up my positive spirit, and avoid surrounding myself with those who make me feel low, depressed and drained.

We can easily come to know who inspire us, make us feel good about ourselves. Likewise, we can, also, easily come to know who drain us, make us feel low. Therefore, to me, whoever lifts my spirit up and makes me feel good about myself is a positive soul, and whoever dampens my spirit, makes me feel bad about myself, is a negative soul... and, when someone repeatedly does damage to my spirit, yes, to me, he/she is ‘toxic’...

You see, we cannot control negative people. But, we can control how we respond to them... We can choose to stay in their company, or walk away from them. At times, when there is high degree of negativity in our significant relationships, the choice to ‘stay away’ physically may not be easy. But, there is still a choice – to let such people control our thoughts, or not to let them...

Whenever I take a break from writing my daily posts, some of my close friends check, “Is everything fine?”

Well, in life, everything can never be fine... The times I write my posts  are not the times when everything is fine. As Leonard Cohen sings “There is a crack in everything... That’s how light gets in.”




For the light to enter, these cracks are needed...

Rumi says in his own way, “The wound is the place where light enters you.”

A conscious step back is called ‘retreat’.  Stephen Covey tells us, that it’s the time needed to sharpen our saws. Else, we keep cutting with our blunted saws!

I have several friends in my life, who have found their dogs to be their best friends... They find more loyalty and love in these four-legged souls than in so many two-legged souls around them...

And, they know how true it is for them!

“My dog helps me deal with toxic people in my life,” a friend told me yesterday, sharing these two heart-warming videos about a young lady, Roni Sagi, and her adorable dog, Rhythm (a Border Collie)...



 




I must’ve watched these videos a dozen times ever since I sighted them, yesterday...

Yes Sir, everything will never be fine in our lives. But, then, when we pause to sharpen our saws, fine things tend to appear right in the midst of toxicity...

The light, in deed, enters through the cracks...

 

GERALD D’CUNHA

 

Pic’s: Pixabay.com

 

Videos:  1. Leonard Cohen  2. AGT/TALENTKINGHD

             3. Roni & Rhythm

 

Comments

Shyla said…
Every word written resonates with us. We were blessed with a puppy 5 months back and now we cannot imagine a life without him. He is a stress buster, companion and a fountain of love for all .
November 19, 2025 at 11:00 PM
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