From Stephen Kappe:
Let's say that someone says something critical or harsh about you and you feel bad because of it. Or maybe you get angry. You then make the arrangement to face them and correct the situation. And if a simple discussion with them rectifies the situation, all well and good. But maybe you want to do more than this. Maybe you even take them to court if it is serious enough. Once you do this and if you win, you feel vindicated, having protected your honor. Maybe the person does indeed deserve a lesson. However, if you know yourself truly, that is more important than to care how others see you. When you are established in your true inner identity and connected to your real Self, you will care little about defending your honor or how others perceive you or what they may say. You will go on with your life, content with who you are and will care little about how others understand you, especially if they do not care enough to really get to know you anyway. Thus, you won't lose your state of happiness just because someone else has said something bad about you. This is the importance of being connected with your true identity and inner Self. This is what we need to do.
"God is manifest in the ordinary, in the actual, in the daily, in the now, in the concrete incarnations of life."
... — from Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality
During Mass yesterday, feeling absolutely low, some kids from Catechism class were asked to sit with me. The tears just had to stop. At the end of the mass, one 5-year-old even managed to kick my little toe. Aaaw! Bleeding, how could I not concentrate on my physical pain instead of the one in my heart? Strange ways God picks to make one forget desperation, even for a while!