Taking offense is pointless.
Funny enough, there are some who might be offended by that statement.
It’s very natural to feel offended, but that doesn’t mean it’s helpful.
Being offended falls under the umbrella of resentment. I’ve heard it said that resentment is “like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.” Taking offense isn’t too far off from this.
I believe it’s a two-pronged issue.
On one hand, taking offense doesn’t do anything to the person or thing that caused it. It only upsets the one who was bothered. It’s not often that someone offends someone and is then changed by the offended party’s displeasure with them.
On the other hand, offense is often taken by those who aren’t entitled to it. If a blogger wrote something that offended you, you wouldn’t really have any right to be upset about it. You don’t have to read their posts. You choose to. You can simply not read their blog posts.
Is it not a tremendous waste of time to get upset about something you didn’t have to?
It only hurts your own well-being. Don’t give it any free space in your mind.
There is, perhaps, a need to address the things that you find yourself offended by. If you just can’t get past it, then I would say it’s time to figure out how to, but this can and should be done without remaining “offended.”
I might explore this idea again at a later date, but since it’s 9 p.m. and I haven’t posted today’s blog yet, I’ll leave it at this.
I hope that doesn’t offend you 😉.
John Ciannello 