GRATEFUL WEDNESDAYS : The Entitlement Sydrome…….

Today, I am grateful for Growth.

Yes, I had that syndrome, the entitlement syndrome, where I felt entitled to certain things in life and if I did not get them, no one around me could be happy.

I am sure many of us can recount a time in our lives when we had this syndrome too. We felt entitled to so much; everybody should know the difficulties we are experiencing even though it might not be as evident, but they should still walk on eggshells around us, so as not to hurt our feelings, and God help them if they happen to do so. We felt that  we are entitled to what belonged to our siblings and this included their successes as well and be taken care of by them, when that really is the job of our parents, up to the age of 18, and lastly, we felt entitled to be lauded over and be put on a pedestal.

 As for me, I felt entitled to be a mom, and was quite angry with God for the better part of my Infertility Struggles, Why not me? I often cried out to God, when everyone else around me was having this dream realized. I also felt that I was carrying a sign around that read - 'Caution - Infertility Struggles,' because I would get so worked up when persons said or did anything that hurt my feelings, even though some might not have known the degree of struggles that I undergoing.

Thank goodness then for growth, because it is with growth that we can look back at our past behavior and feel our stomach cringing. We feel embarrass for being so naïve and selfish. Guess what though, because we feel embarrass does not mean that our behavior was by any means off course. Turns out, this is the path that growth takes. How else would we be able to recognize and measure growth, if we are not able to look back and see where we are coming from.

It is quite normal to feel entitled, but among the things we should feel entitled to are, the need to feel loved, the need for food and fresh air. On another level, the need to be respected and the need to live quality lives, I could go on, and there would not be anything that says, the need to employ selfish and manipulative strategies to get what we want.

I am grateful then for growth