Help Me Get Through The Days …

Why do some people we know seem to be intent on making everyone around them miserable?  Like a human “black hole” , they seem intent on sucking all the beauty and joy out of life.

*          This individual is the neighborhood gossip, never has anything good to say about anyone and spreads around all the dirt she can dig up or make up.  “He said or did this”, “She said or did that”, etc, etc.

*          This individual is always saying: “They can’t do that … it’s illegal!”.  Whether it is or not.  Unless, of course, it’s convenient for her or puts money in her pocket.

*          This individual constantly rails against “Government Entitlement Programs”, then complains that the government is supposed to send her more work because: “This is a woman-owned business!”

*          You can’t say anything to, or in front of, this individual because; “years ago” she, a member of her family, or someone she knew did it better, faster and/or cheaper.  Conversations stop when she enters a room.

*          This individual has had, or knows someone who has had, every disease known to humankind and some completely unknown.  “The doctors are still trying to figure it out.”

*          This individual has to have the best of everything and then constantly whines about the price.

*          This individual has to be right all the time.  She’s done everything, been everywhere and is an expert on EVERY subject.

*          This individual personifies:  “Better to remain silent and thought a fool, than to open ones mouth and remove all doubt.”

*          This individual will, if you have the audacity to disagree with her on any subject, tell you:  “If you don’t like it, you can go home” and then whisper trash about you to everyone else for the rest of the day.

*          This individual is so paranoid, she has to have bars on all the windows and an iron fence around the property.  At the end of the day, everyone has to stand around outside until she mounts her broom(gets in her car) and leaves.  She then drives home, next door, to MORE window bars.

*          This individual has never found a restaurant she likes.  She eats the food, complains about it and/or the service, then tries to get the meal free.  It’s gotten so bad even her family is finding excuses not to join her.

*          This individual is totally incapable of processing the shame of making a mistake, so she finds some way to blame all of her mistakes on others.  She makes decisions, but always attributes them to some one else, just in case one of them is a mistake.

I just, partially, described an individual I have to be around most of the day.

I feel kind of like Ralph Macchio in The Karate Kid:  “I’ll never find balance, this way.”

No, this person is NOT a member of my immediate family nor related to me in any way, though she acts like she’s everyone’s mother/doctor/benefactor/etc.

Just as anti-matter is the opposite or counter-part of matter, this individual seems to be anti-human.  I believe this is a mental aberation called Narcissism.  I’m sure there’s some of the narcissist in all of us, me included, but, constantly being around someone who is completely narcissistic is physically and mentally demanding and continually stresses ones soul.

There is an excellent book on the subject entitled:  Why Is It Always About You?:  The Seven Deadly Sins of Narcissism  by Sandy Hotchkiss.

Insights from that book, thinking about going home in the evening and prayer helps get me through the days.