"We all know people who spend their lives wallowing in self-pity. People who, if we give them a chance, will tell us how they were wronged by a parent, spouse, boss, sibling, teacher, doctor, child or all of the above. I call them the wimpy whiners of the world. We have to develop Teflon coating so their negativity runs off. Or avoid them at all costs.

Unless, of course, they turn out to be us. We all have been wronged and can get to brooding, decrying and bemoaning with the best of them. If only Mom had loved me best! What a waste.

I read somewhere that the only way negative people can muck up our minds is if we let them. Intelligent people, such as ourselves, can replace negative thoughts with positive. "Can this be possible?" I asked. I tried it. Possible? Yes. Easy? No way!

But it is such a relief. Giving up old grudges assuming the responsibility for ourselves, empowers us. It sets us free.

If we laden ourselves with anger or guilt, if we refuse to forgive, we keep picking the scabs of our psychological wounds. They won’t ever heal. When we refuse to forgive those who wrong us, we sour on the inside. Our souls curdle. It is like taking poison and hoping the other person will die. Who wants to go through life with curdled souls?

It helps, believe it or not, to get older. The sense of time passing and opportunities lost puts things in perspective. Accumulating material items fades in comparison to savoring relationships. Winning at golf, bowling, or cards, while still enjoyable, is not as important as the time those activities give us to spend with people we love.

Life is a great game, an exciting journey, that you don’t always appreciate while it is happening. Because when we are born into this great game, the big coach in the sky issues us our physical and mental equipment, but doesn’t tell us what we are suited up for, whose team we are on or even what game we are playing.

It is up to us to find out. And often, we find out who we are by finding out who we aren’t. Our mistakes turn out to be our greatest educational tools. Unhappiness with our bodies becomes an appreciation that they are simply our Earth suits and it is the souls inside that count. Also, and this is a real blessing, we begin to understand and accept the fact that people have the right to be different from whom we prefer them to be, and we can love them anyway. This helps especially with children.

So we quit sweating the small stuff, and savor life as the gift it is. With that in mind, I pass on these words to you. Remember: The only way negative people can muck up our minds is if we let them. We need to enjoy this game, whatever it is for each of us. It will be over far too soon."