Never go to bed with anger in your heart! An emotional story about a mother and her little son!
It has probably happened to everyone, at least once in a lifetime. Namely, to argue with a child, a parent or with a partner so much that you cannot "close" the issue, which inevitably drags on until you are too tired to continue.
In those moments, when we remain alone and reflect on what has been said and how it all happened, we never manage to reassure ourselves completely, especially if we continue to have the feeling that our reasons have not been sufficiently explained. Sleeping on it is, therefore, practically impossible.
To learn how to best manage these unpleasant situations, this story told by a mother about a particular episode that she experienced with her little son can be useful.
This is a touching story, in which surely many people find themselves mirrored and can discover ideas to improve themselves and their ability to manage small, but very important, daily challenges.
"My son and I had just had one of those monumental discussions for an hour and a half because he didn't want to go to sleep. Between four changes of pajamas, two changes of pillows, an "existential" debate about why the night exists and why people have to sleep, we ended up with decisive statements, according to which "Nobody could ever force him to close his eyes if he didn't want to". At one point, given the situation, I decided to play the cards in my "power": "My love, I love you, but if you don't go to sleep now, tomorrow you won't be going to play at your cousins' house."
A low blow, I admit, because we both knew how much he wanted to go to his cousins' house. I don't know how, but he managed to hold back his immense anger, wiped his tears and lay down. After tucking the blankets in, I was about to leave the room. Then I heard him, in the darkness, calling me to say: "Mama, I forgive you." "I think you didn't understand the correct meaning of that sentence", I said, thinking he wanted to apologize. The answer was amazing.
'No, mom, I forgive you. I forgive you because we said things that made our hearts feel sad and I can't sleep: feeling sad makes my stomach hurt and I can't fall asleep. That's why I want us to forgive each other." He kept wiping his tears with his small hands. That evening I learned a great lesson about forgiveness and empathy, from a 4-year-old child. We should never go to bed with anger in our hearts."
Learning to forgive and - at the same time - learning to ask forgiveness, especially in regards to our loved ones, is a fundamental skill to be acquired in life.
Only then can we avoid being trapped in pain and anger. Negative memories are more difficult to avoid if we go to bed thinking about them.
Moreover, the moments spent with our partners, children, and parents are too precious to be filled with negative and "toxic" episodes, which are difficult to overcome.
With a few more "Excuse me, I'm sorry" apologies, we will surely live more peacefully.
