(Minghui.org) A new employee recently began working at my workplace. She is short, with dyed hair and heavy make-up. She slouches and her voice is unpleasant. I immediately disliked her.
My manager asked me to work with her. Because she is new and much younger than I, I began telling her to do this or that and it seemed like I was giving her orders. She didn't want to listen to me and gave me a hard time. She also likes to show off, even in front of my manager.
I was frustrated: Why do I have such a coworker? Because I am a Falun Dafa practitioner, I began to examine myself and ask why I had these negative feelings. I realized that I still wanted to compete with others and I still liked to show off.
A few days passed and things did not improve. I continued to look within: I am not compassionate enough and I am selfish. Her behavior seemed to be my fault.
But whenever I saw her sometimes irrational behavior I became upset again. As a result, I could hardly calm down and look within.
Breakthrough
On the way home I kept thinking about why I was so easily upset and distracted by this coworker? Then I remembered Master's words in Zhuan Falun, “If everyone is good to one another without conflicts of interests or interference from the human mind, how can your xinxing make progress by your only sitting there? That is impossible.”
I suddenly understood that whenever I encounter difficulty, I should treat it lightheartedly, instead of having negative feelings. If I don't have any challenges and I don't have opportunities to improve, I should be worried. I knew that I hadn't been handling this well. With that thought, I was clear on what I should do.
Interestingly, my manager had a long talk with that coworker the following day. After their meeting the coworker came to me and said humbly, “You are more experienced than me and I can learn a lot from you. Can you help teach me?”
“No problem,” I smiled and said, “Take your time and you will get it.” From then on she was like a different person and our relationship became cordial.
Through the Fa lectures, we know that as long as we cultivate well ourselves, the situation around us will change and become harmonious. Letting go of human notions will benefit not only ourselves, but also our surroundings.
Our Behavior Influences Others
Through the years, many practitioners have been detained. We have put a lot of effort into rescuing them, including contacting their family members, hiring attorneys, writing letters to officers, and visiting government agencies. Some practitioners said that many people we contacted were not helpful, and some even ignored us or swore at us.
This may be true to some extent. But on the other hand, I know that some practitioners have developed negative feelings towards government officials because of their involvement in the persecution in the past 18 years. Such complaints or negative thoughts could interfere with us when we reach out to these people, and make the situation appear to be very negative.
Since we follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, we should treat everyone with compassion. If we are able to do this, our sincerity and kindness will move them and help them make a better choice.
After all, people are observing us and forming opinions about Dafa based on our words and actions. To save them, we have to do well ourselves and let go of human notions.
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Category: Improving Oneself
