Punching bag of truth

I ran into an old classmate not to long ago. We weren't friends nor would I consider this person, who I'll refer to as that guy, an acquaintance. I didn't know that guy, nor did that guy know me. Yet, all through high school that guy was nothing but rude and a bit of a bully.

I don't know much about that guy, nor did I make an attempt to, but I assume that it was that guy's friends that brought out his meanness, the pressure of fitting in and keeping with the "tough guy" image most likely provoked it...it doesn't excuse the fact that he was a royal ass bag.

For a long time now it's been my message to the teens and others around me that we shouldn't hold grudges and that we're called to forgive, yet I couldn't come to terms with. It was hard to restrain myself from going up to that guy and saying:" Hey dude, remember me? You were a jerkus back in the day and I can tell that you're doing quite well. You look healthy, maybe a good 35 lbs. heavier, your tats look great I'm sure the ladies love 'em and that's why you're not married..." or something like that.

It wasn't until I had been in the same room as him for a good few minutes that I convinced myself that I should strike up a conversation and get over myself, but decided it best to wait until next time since it would be weird to just talk as I'm about to leave.

My point is this, grudge or no grudge, having pent up frustrations or anger towards someone who was a royal Delta Bravo (DB) to you in the past and shunning him or her makes you no better than that guy. Look at any genuine difference maker in the history of the world: MLK, Gandhi, JC, George Washington, the list goes on. They all befriended anyone and everyone to continue on changing the world. It wasn't until today that I realized my inability to get over my selfish mindset towards a past forgettable memory makes me no better than that guy himself while being that guy to me all through high school. By being full of angst and anger makes me just as bad as the bully himself...and I'm better than that.

I'm sure that we've all been there. Stuck with a past fling, a former bully, a boss you can't stand, whomever that guy is in your life. It's time, in today's day in age, to get over ourselves and be that better man and become more accepting. That's the manliest thing you can do, especially in a society that needs more men to be men.