Maturity

 A mature person is one who does not think only in absolutes, who is able to be objective even when deeply stirred emotionally, who has learned that there is both good and bad in all people and all things, and who walks humbly and deals charitably. ~ By Eleanor Roosevelt

The world seems to be filled with immature and drama driven people.  Webster defines immature as: lacking complete growth, differentiation, or development.  I think the immature lack consciousness or awareness.  They cannot truly see themselves through others’ eyes.  They only see what is being done to them and how others have contributed to their problems.  They rarely see how they have created their own life. To be a mature adult means to live with integrity, responsibility, and be reflective about our life and choices. 

To live with integrity is to live honestly with moral and ethical character.  To live responsibly is to always do what needs to be done and accept that our choices have put us where we are.  Where ever we go, there we will be.  You cannot live responsibly and blame others at the same time.  We all have people and experiences in our lives that have been damaging, but it is how we chose to let those experiences affect us that are important.  Also, to be a mature adult requires reflection.  Reflection is simply to be able to look at ourselves, our actions, and our circumstances and think about them deeply.  Also, as a mature adult, I believe we can make a conscious choice of who we want to be and how we want to live.  We can pick quality friends to be in our life; we can treat others like we want to be treated; we can stop blaming others for our circumstances; we can stop being petty and understand what is important in life.  We can also make a plan for our lives and what we want it to look like, and then move forward on it.  What actions need to take place to get to where we want to be?  Where ever we go, there we will be.

But very importantly, we need to stop our anger.  We are a petty culture.  Maybe it is time to give others the benefit of the doubt, stop assuming the worst, and be the kind of person we would want to be friends with.  Anger just gets in the way, muddles up our relationships, and hinders us in emotional growth.  It take valuable energy that could and should be allocated for family, work, friends, and lifting ourselves up to the highest level.  So whatever is going on in your life that is causing you to whine, complain, or blame--build a bridge and get over it.