Button Pushing.

Cute as a button.

Cute as a bug’s ear.

Did you know? Cute was a shortening of the word acute for “sharp witted and clever”.

I did not know……learn something new everyday!

Clever.

Shrewd

Ingenious, too

Not outwardly beautiful, drop dead gorgeous, bombshell-ey, “hot”.

But.

Cute.

Small things are usually cute.

Bunnies are cute.

Small children are oftentimes considered cute

A button is small, is round, so I guess could be considered cute.

Although I know a person who as a small child had an aversion to buttons. But it wasn’t what you may think. This person had an innate ability to express that which he could not do. And to this day, incapable of intentionally or unintentionally hurting another individual.

A slam dunk kinda kid. When confronted with buttons, pushing or pressing them, this kid replied:

“No buttons”. As in, don’t like ‘em, don’t like to look at them, don’t like to use them. The person knew he could not manuever them. The glitch from the top of his head to the tips of his fingers told him so.

So instead of being “button pushed” into the button hole. He confidently and clearly stated, in fact I think one of his very first words before “Mommy or Daddy” was

“No buttons.”

Brilliant actually. The self awareness this person had of his capabilities and abilities at such a cute☺️, young age.

We should all be so concise with our wants and needs, and desires etcetera, etcetera. So as to not push another’s button to invoke a reaction they are unaccustomed, not used to handling. Upset them. Upset the apple cart. To do specific things to anger someone, especially intentionally or maliciously.

Not cool.

The push.

The pull.

The push-pull.

Of the button-like cuteness is sometimes too much to resist. Too much to bear. No one likes to be left holding the button.🥹.

Sometimes the button gets pushed to the point of snapping. There is a novel idea. A snap is a lot easier to snap but also can cause a person to snap. In a way that they have felt button pushed.

It’s a dance. Of buttons😳. Of pushing. Of button pushing until it may turn into a snap.

Then what does one do?

Punt.

Under normal life circumstances, normal people do not care to push another’s buttons—upset or hurt them. It’s. Mean.

Technical difficulties aside, the buttons don’t push. The human does. The pressing of the button is activated by the individual pressing the button. Impulsivity aside, one can wait or one can not.

Think before you hit send is always a good idea whether you are a button pusher or a button push-ee.😂.

The threshold of another human is never something to assume. Patience is a virtue. Especially when it comes to button pushing. Once the decision is made, once it is “out there”. It is “out there”. And that can be either good or bad.

Only God Knows.

May I introduce you to Exasperilla.

Exasperilla. She is very good at pushing another person’s buttons. And she does not stop. Exasperilla is passive-agressive. She is not just rude, she wants you to react. Manipulator of MASTERFUL words, deeds and actions. Denial and gas lighting another as a way to control the words deeds and actions of another. This is high brow, high smartness stuff. Of the dismissive ness kind-subtle, not subtle makes no difference does the job. Gets the job done. (lb)

Exasperilla is incapable of coming “out”. Of addressing the real issue, but neither can she let it drop. Attempts to undermine are constant. Pretending nothing has happened, suddenly begins to act differently towards another. (Lb)

This could be Exasperilla’s play book.

(Let’s try to help Exasperilla!)

To Do. Stay out of one’s hair.

To Don’t. Get under one’s skin

To Do. Exercise patience.

To Don’t: Irk.

To Do. Be kind.

To Don’t. Provoke.

To Do. Breathe deeply.

To Don’t. Needle.

To Do. Remove self from situation

To Don’t. Madden

To Do. Be kind.

To Don’t. Rattle one’s cage (LB)

Don’t take it personally. Again. Under normal circumstances. Sometimes circumstances have move so way past normal. We are left holding a handful of buttons with no where to put them. No pun intended if you are angry while holding a hand full of buttons.

An angry person may reply

”You know where you can put those buttons, don’t you”😳

Seriously though. It is never nice to intentionally push another’s buttons. Never nice. In good times. In bad times. In so-so times. It can be the buggiest way, and not a cute buggy way, to bug another that can push them and their buttons right over the edge. That is not worth the rush it may feel in the moment. Of pushing another’s buttons.

Hurting people don’t necessarily need us to fill the air with words. They need us to be present. To be with them. So before we act on our good intentions. (hnw)

Wait.

Yield.

Pray. If you are a pray-er.

Ask the hurting person. “What would be the most helpful for you right now?

Put the buttons down.

Put your good intentions down too.

Forget about Exasperilla too.

Just be. Present.

Love and logic are basically incompatible. We cannot talk ourselves into love nor can we reason it away. Reason only interferes. Our memories and past get in the way. (hnw)

Devotion is not a game. Love is patient. Kind too. No button pushing impulsivity either. So the next time you are confronted with a challenge. Either extra terrestrially or down here in realityville.

Try doing the same as the not doing should do. Same to do and to don’t. Don’t push another’s trigger points. Be a nicer version of you, even if it feels awkward. Don’t give up, even if and when it gets too difficult. And it will become difficult and reversion may occur. Slough it off and toss the buttons in the trash where they belong.

Look in the mirror, smile at you, and vow to keep trying harder the next time. It’ll all be ok.