In life you’ll occasionally come across small changes that transform your perspective and magnify your ability to accomplish things. I’ve discovered one that I feel you need to know for a number of reasons, chief among them from my perspective is the opportunity to catalyze massive change not just locally, but globally.
My secret little change that unleashes almost limitless power is this: the moment you stop taking offense is the moment you begin to focus on the opportunities present with you. It seems like a simple matter, but if you take an honest inventory of your day you’ll likely see a number of areas where you’ve privately or outwardly taken offense. Multiply that number by the number of people on earth (roughly 7,000,000,000) and you have a lot of offense being taken on earth in any given moment.
I remember seeing Star Wars IV: A New Hope, the one where Luke destroys the Death Star by flying through a narrow trench and dropping a proton bomb in an exhaust vent, and I think that navigating the field of circumstance is quite often similar experience. His success was predicated on the fact that he stayed focused no matter what was thrown at him.
So it is with offense. When you are tricked into taking offense you are immediately side-tracked and therefore neutralized as an enemy. Taking offense is often seen as the high ground but in reality it is nothing more than evidence of the high ground being abandoned. It’s the point at which righteousness becomes self-righteousness. If what you are facing is some form of evil and if you truly care about bringing light where there is darkness, you cannot afford to be nullified.
There is no reason for you to fail ever again on this point. You may have a habit to change, but be diligent, for the prize is well worth the effort. I’ve seen people spend the better part of their youth or even their adult years wallowing in swill of past offense taken and it is a sad sight indeed.
Don’t let that be the case with you! Use the “Force” if you have to; do whatever it takes! Be ruthless with yourself in this regard and clement with others and you’ll find that not only are you no longer taken advantage of, you also will quickly be entrusted with a power that you never could have imagined while living in the murky, impotent and frustrating state that invariably betides anyone who takes offense.
Gregory Hake 
It is interesting to see how your posts apply to the circumtances of present living. It seems taking offense is very insidious. It is swift and destructive at the same time The analogy of Luke Skywalker brings to mind how in each day we are to be ready to meet our worlds even at times flying through those trenches. As a Jet Eye Knight conditioned for victory so we also need to be. It does take preparation to meet the opportunities we face on a daily basis. And as we do we condition ourselves for greater victories and greater influences of light extended into the world. Your posts bring an excitement to living.
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This is such excellent advice. As I’ve gotten older, I have realized that I have much more power to change a situation if you don’t get all hot under the collar. It’s really a waste of time to get defensive and/or self-righteous and accomplishes the exact opposite of what you think it will – you entirely gives up the control that you’re so desperately trying to have. So much time is wasted taking offense. Why not just listen, relax and if you need to make a change, do it. If not, you’ve got nothing to lose.
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In times past I’ve considered….”Which side of the O-ffense am I standing?”
There are 2, and following a day of conscious recognition, coupled with some failures, which offered the opportunity for analysis, you’re absolutely correct.
Handing over our power by even considering the o-ffence or as it has been referred to before as straddling the fense, puts us in a position where we are compromised. If we are centered where there is no offense possible, that is looking for opportunities to assist others, and send a clear message to the world that “none of these things move me”, there is a higher perspective immediately available where the offense can be nullified. Thus far and no further, would be the appropriate stance.
Thanks for another day of learning and for refocusing this opportunity to change the world!
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Thinking about this, it seems like judgement is also a form of taking offense. Really, the only reason to judge someone is because you feel they have acted offensively in some way. Refraining from judgement is refraining from the taking of offense.
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Wise counsel Gregg, definitely life changing when actually done.
Thanks You.
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I really appreciate this post! It’s a habit I’ve been changing and I’m in the stage of often recognizing the habit while I’m doing it and getting to the step of recognizing it before I do it. It’s empowering to realize your reactions are all choices. Rather than taking offense, why not choose to react in a way that puts you in position to do the greatest good with the situation at hand? It would be much more beneficial to all the parties involved!
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One of the ways that I learned to not take offense is to remind myself to “hold steady”. By reminding myself to do that has kept me out of all kinds of trouble in recent years. I think that the biggest benefit of holding steady is that you become valuable to others, especially during crisis or high pressure situations. Thanks for articulating so beautifully today Gregg!
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As you emphasize, taking offense is thoroughly mixed up with concepts of righteousness that the average person thinks very little of it. And yet, this common habit does neutralize the capacity and potential of so many. We see the need for change in the world, but here is a field where we can each do something massive!
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I’ve had personal experience doing both and you’re exactly right. Taking offense left me weakened and victimized while the other gave me emotional space for perspective. I’ve found taking offense led to reactions I later regretted as well. So in effect I added insult to injury to myself. Thanks for bringing this up, it’s a insidious habit that spoils any creative progression.
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Taking offense is like being offered a vial of poison and drinking it. There’s no way around the fact that at that point you’ll get sick, and rest assured self-righteous indignation is a sickness. Over time, the mind, body and spirit becomes ill with a burden it cannot carry and a disease is likely to manifest. As a practitioner in the field of Complementary and Alternative Medicine, I have to take the individual’s temperament into consideration when surveying their problem. The practice of homeopathy is acutely aware of this and remedies are often matched to the patient based on their emotional disposition.
Ultimately, one has to grow out of their limitation through conscious effort in order to become well. Yes, there are a great many offenses in the world today, but to recognize that taking offense and thus receiving it is the only way the offense can do damage, well that’s the first step to ending the offense. You’ve quarantined the contagion at that point. Generational trauma can be instantly neutralized, you get your life back, and you are no longer a threat to the innocent. It works out in so many beautiful ways!
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