Puzzling

People are like puzzles that I'm not sure I want to figure out. Yesterday afternoon's post was a bit of a social experiment, which proved something I'd already suspected. 

Wolf cautioned me on CC not to talk about certain info I have confided to him, which gave me an idea. I replied, "Like what I just posted on my wonderland blog?" But before I clicked "post reply," I checked my stat counter to see how many people had visited my blog that day.

Then I went back and clicked "reply," and sat back and watched as visits to my blog skyrocketed. In the first thirty minutes after posting, over 100 unique visitors went to my blog. 

Not only did my experiment prove that people take me seriously enough to rush to my blog when I say I've posted something, but it proved to me that there is a certain group who read my blog with almost a fanatical constancy.

For conducting this harmless experiment, I was accused of being "shady." 

With that said, there are some things you can be sure I'll always do, because it's in my nature:

I will always defend myself when attacked.

I will always treat everyone fairly.

I will always back up my accusations with proof. 

And I will always do my best, not only to be kind, but at everything I attempt. 

My best may not be your best. We are all dealt a certain personality, a certain environment, a certain set of characteristics that make each of us unique. 

One thing that's important to me is character. And the trolls have figured out the best way to poke me is to engage in character assassination. 

When this first happened, it was a new experience for me.  I've always been pretty well liked, and have never had any "enemies." I have always lived my life quietly, yet competitively.  I've never had people make up blatant lies about me like they've done in the chase. 

It takes "competition" to a much lower level than I've experienced in the past. I grew up playing sports--basketball, volleyball, surfing, jet-skiing, racing, swimming, even football. I experienced better sportsmanship playing tackle football with the kids on my street than I've encountered in the chase. How sad is that?  

   

As a competitor, I realize I'll have off days. I realize that it's impossible to win all the time. I realize I will not always make the right choices or the wisest decisions. I realize that I will, when attempting to solve an ambiguous puzzle, be wrong very often. And that's okay as long as I know I did my very best. If people still ridicule others after they've done their best, what kind of person does that make them? 

That's why I don't care what haters spout. They can't rattle me. They can't shake my determination, they can't make me doubt myself, and they can't stop me from pursuing what I want to pursue.  

And if someone finds the treasure before I do, I will be the first to congratulate them. No hard feelings, no crying foul, no whining about why I lost. If they find it, they earned it. Simple as that.

Here is something to ponder:

Who spouts the most insults? Who spouts the most hate? The one with the most wounded ego, that's who. Think about that. 

They can't take away my fun, they can't take away the awe and fascination I experience on every single trip I make out west. They can't take away my dignity, and they can't take away my self-respect. They can't take away anything, and they can't force me out. I'm not going anywhere. 

Consider this--if a treasure hunting blog devotes more time to hating someone than to solving the clues and discussing the chase, is it still a treasure hunting blog? Or is it a blog that feeds and nurtures more hate? 

While they talk, I think. While they gossip, I act. While they concoct lies, I seek the truth. And I'm smiling all the way. 

They can't take that away. You can't win a competition you've already lost.