#anyeelite

After negotiating with law enforcement to allow me to walk through their crime scene. I began making my way west on Santa Monica Blvd to see comic and fellow "Gaylebrity" Sampson McCormick. Shout out to Dwight O'Neal for coining that phrase.  The gig was in WEHO which caused me a brief moment of anxiety because my short time in L.A has informed me that despite it being the official gay neighborhood I'm much more suited for less pretentious settings.

However, I''ll tell you this.  There are few sounds like a packed hall full of people not just laughing, but stupid laughing. I met one other friend at the venue but for a short time all of us there were connected. It was an incredible evening and I found myself telling everyone I knew about “this hilarious stand up routine I just saw.” I told friends, family, and even a handful of strangers while I was waiting in line at the Farmer’s Market by the grove. I couldn't help myself. People needed to know how funny Sampson McCormick is.

1. Acknowledge Your Pain.

The key is not to deny what we are feeling, but rather to accept it. Take a moment to be mindful and narrate your emotions: This embarrassment is excruciating. I am so frightened right now. Hang in there with unpleasant feelings at least long enough to acknowledge them.

Often we don’t want to admit we are hurt by another person’s meanness; we want to let it go without letting it get to us. If you can do this, more power to you. But if you can’t, that’s okay, too. You will survive the discomfort of your hurt feelings. It is perfectly normal to feel bad when someone wounds you.

2. Get Away.

This of course I'm sure if obvious and you've no doubt thought about this.  It can be difficult if this person is a family member, co-worker, or friend.  The bottom line is that you don't need people like that in your life.  My main reasoning for writing this article is to prevent current victims from becoming someones villain in the future.  As soon as you can stop subjecting yourself to that behavior the better off you will be!  So if you have a way out take it!  Hurt people hurt people and that leads me to my second tip.

3. Remember to be compassionate above all!

I used to have a friend whom I considered really close to me but couldn't understand why he would take every opportunity to belittle me or hurt me.  At first I would try responding with little quips of my own but that didn't really make me feel any better cause I could feel that toxic energy rising in me and I know that's not who I wanted to be.

Instead I started fighting fire with water.  I began using a loving-kindness meditation using phrases like “May you be happy. May you be healthy and strong. May you be free from suffering” while imagining the person who tried to hurt me.

4. Lions Do Not Concern Themselves With The Opinion of Sheep.

I learned that my "friend's main issue with me is that he struggled with finding original ideas of his own and resented my creativity.  He also didn't like the way that I was able to freely express myself.  Do you think that I stopped expressing myself?  Hell No!  I kept doing me and at the end of the day that 's the best thing that you can do.  If you are so inclined you might want to ask...