It’s official: I’m not the poster child (nor have I ever aspired to be) for perfect human being

“The history of my stupidity could fill volumes.”—Czeslaw Milosz

I believe in saying thank you for everything. I think there’s a gift (a pony underneath the dung for those who’ve heard the joke about the excited kid on his birthday) in every circumstance. Even those that might appear, at onset, less than desirable.

Yesterday (and I’ve been more or less obsessing about it ever since), I wrote a post about my excitement over a particular political candidate. I’ve been known to gush about many things—books I love, music, movies, other authors. I don’t expect others to like the same books, movies, music. It’s a diverse planet, something I celebrate daily.

However, this particular spurt of enthusiasm did the exact opposite of what I most want: to promote love and peace and understanding. Let’s just say, it was a huge fail. I was shocked really at the strong reaction it provoked. People were more or less shouting, “off with her head!”

My first reaction was, “well, fine. I’ll just quit writing my blog.” But that’s petty and little and not the person I aspire to be. My only goal remains to love to the very best of my ability. That’s it.

Needless to point out, I’m an imperfect human being. I make many missteps and will continue to make many more.

Since I believe change starts on the inside, the angry reaction I got prompted me to take a good look at the part of me that still feels insecure and easily hurt. As I always say, you don’t notice your mascara is smeared and try to fix it on the mirror. You fix it the only place where it can be fixed—on (or in this case IN) yourself.

So thank you, all—those who stood up for my right to express an opinion (one of the things I’m grateful for is that I have that right) and for those who basically acted out that part of myself that still feels like a poser.

I’m deeply sorry I offended anyone. And I hope each of you (especially those who took on the role of my inner critic) has the very best, amazingly awesome weekend of your life.

Pam Grout is the author of 17 books including E-Squared: 9 Do-it-Yourself Energy Experiments that Prove Your Thoughts Create Your Reality and its equally-scintillating sequel, E-Cubed, 9 More Experiments that Prove Mirth, Magic and Merriment is your Full-time Gig.