WFR: Swatting Flies, Lessons From a Seeker

Throughout one's life there arises nuisances that annoy and antagonize us like a fly at the dinner table.  The instinct is to swat that annoyance, rid it from our lives and return to whatever it is we are working on.  Though that is our instinct and the most immediate satisfying action, are there times when we should bear the annoyance and not swat the fly?

I love the scene in the book Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind when Richard and Kahlen are faced with the temptation to swat the Blood flies that were annoying them.  In this instance the annoyance was not only buzzing about them but they were even stinging and biting them.  The real danger they were in was if they attacked the small annoyance they would have gained the attention of a very dangerous and lethal predator a long tail Gar.

This scene is a great metaphor for our own lives and gives us the answer to the question: are there times when we should bear the annoyance and not swat the fly?  The lesson here is it's sometimes wiser to tolerate the small annoyances because attacking the small stuff can make a situation much worse then it already is.  In other words as I'm told often "Don't sweat the small stuff."

There are many real life examples of when people should not have swatted at their small annoyances and because they did they ended up in much bigger trouble.  Watch politics for a moment and the examples flow.  Take for example the young couple on a date who couldn't leave the fly alone and ended up spilling their drink over their plate and nice outfit, not to mention the embarrassment.   For me, recently, I lost an afternoon because I could not leave the small plumbing annoyance alone and because I messed with it I made a situation that was ignorable into a bigger situation that had to be fixed.

The next time you are faced with an annoyance, endure for at least a moment and seek the truth behind the situation.  Discern and ask yourself if I go after that small annoyance will it make the situation worse.  If not then swat away but heed the Seeker's warning for if you swing at the wrong one a long tail Gar might just be waiting for you.

Get your copy of Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind here and enjoy.