Forgiveness is always better than revenge...

My former boss may not like this post, since this is being written about him, but I fell that I have to write this. And there is wisdom to be learned. Like the subject of certain posts of late, who he is & the company in question will remain in pectore, though in due time, you may figure it out (especially if you follow me on Facebook). But for now, I'm not naming names...

After I was fired, my first priority was to put out a resume, apply everywhere I could find & basically find another job. I was still hot under the collar about the way I'd been treated, and I was going for revenge, as documented here. I was out for revenge. Almost at all costs. I avoided his store, and I made sure everybody knew why I left. I was right (after all, I had the documentation & I had prevailed in my unemployment claim. And L&I had sided with me as well). And the final piece in my plan was to simply take his ass to court. And to convince my (now former) co-workers to go in with me (even in small claims court you can get up to $5000 per head, which would've been easy for me, as I have documentation and proof of retaliation). But I couldn't. At first I just decided to walk away from it. I'd found another job, was making better money. I'd received a couple of text messages from my former employers, and I just silently deleted them.

But through the months, I realized that I was getting even more bitter over this. Whenever I saw mutual friends, all I could say was how he was a jerk/thief & that he should be shunned. In the end, I was looking more like a bitter, disgruntled former employee. So, I refriended my former employer on Facebook, and started talking to them again. One of the things I've learned in the movies is that hubris will be one's downfall, and I'm not looking to become another Darth Vader (you know, the whole getting your limbs cut off, and left to burn in lava just isn't my thing)... Eventually, I worked up the courage to go back to the store and talk to him in person. Long story short, that hatchet has been buried, and I'm back to working for him on occasion. I'm not going to cut ties with my current employer (after all, I'm making more money here than I was for him, and he just doesn't the payroll anymore). I may not agree with him, but I don't need to argue the point, nor do I need to prevail with him. I know I'm right, and that's the only person I need to convince.  You don't have to prevail in every argument. A friend is better than an enemy. Forgiveness is better than revenge.