“Those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones” is a common and popular proverb that has been used for centuries. This phrase hit me in the head after an exchange I had with someone.

Stone throwers are those who like to judge, find fault, and trash talk others. Quite often, throwers have a very high view of themselves and low view of those different than themselves. They don’t see what they don’t do. They only see what they want to see.

Stone avoiders live in fear of having anyone not like them. They sit on the sideline and resist taking any position or making any decision that may result in having someone toss a few stones their way. Sometimes a thrower really is also an avoider – as deflection.

Stone catchers are those who take action. They are the ones who see the stones being thrown and rather they just watch them plop in the water, or ignore them, they do something about them – usually about taking another stone to themselves.

I think that if someone is going to throw stones at someone else (and willing to damage the relationship with that person) then they should least throw two – one at themselves and one at their own house. Or, if you are getting a stone thrown at you, rather than lob one back, pick it up and do something different with it.

When stones are thrown at me, I pick one up (a new one!) and throw it at my own house. By throwing stones at my own house, I discover my weaker windows, places where there’s room for improvement and therefore where I need to do some home repair and remodeling.

Yesterday, when I was being pelted with stones. I just let them drop in the “water.” Then, I picked up my own stone, found a weak window, and made a phone call to fix that situation.

Look, we can’t control the absolute s*** that comes from other people. Nor can we always control the stupid s*** that we engage in. But, what we can do is check our weaknesses at the door and fix them. Because in the end, we are the only one who can really shore up our personal “house” … making us better, stronger human beings.

XOXO

Jessica