The Wisdom of Not Taking Offense

Never be offended.

If the offence was intended, the last thing you want to do is to reward the offender by reacting to their slight. Smile and pretend that the slight was intended in good humour. Nothing will infuriate them more.

If the offence was unintended, the last thing you want to do is to take it to heart. Smile and forgive – we all say and do things that don’t come across the way we intended.

Either way, it makes no sense to be offended.

You can of course walk around insisting that everyone be more careful and more considerate. But I prefer instead the advice of an 8th Century Buddhist monk: “It’s far easier to wear leather shoes than it is to cover the whole world with leather.”