Hi Flower…I used to encounter the exact same thing. At one point I realized that I was becoming more like them. When I realized this, I realized that this was happening because I was giving up on my personal constitution. I had a talk with myself, and, my self, and snapped out of it. I realized that these people were miserable long before I came along and will remain so in the absence of self examination and making the necessary positive changes. I refused to get caught up in the, “you know what I heard” gossip. I began to get very selective with what I wanted to say in terms of my outside of work life. I realized that their ecclesiastically superior evaluation was nothing more than cheap entertainment based on gossip. As soon as I became more willing to not invest in their negativity, I became a “snob.” Just another evaluation I guess. Flower let them go. Relinquish your membership to that negative club. You clearly have some very positive aspirations. You asked, “What if they could just understand how miserable they are making us?” Surely you know that this is not possible, unless you give them permission to. What you describe is unfortunately the state of the world. I find it interesting that as adults, we tend to behave in ways that we tell our children not to behave. You are still vibrant and energized. Just let that shine !

🙂

Pearce