When we give someone else the benefit of the doubt and they disappoint us, take advantage of us, or betray us, it does not mean that we were wrong in doing so.
We cannot allow the selfish actions or poor decisions of one person, or a few people, dictate how we perceive or interact with the world.
We have to maintain our bearing regardless of hurt feelings.
This means fighting the temptation to give in to cynicism.
Our cynicism will not change the people we were hurt by anyway.
Meanwhile, this negativity, if we allow it to fester, will destroy us from the inside out.
It will eat away at our optimism and our relationships will begin to suffer.
If we let this go too far, we will eventually find ourselves sad and alone, all because our generosity was not received the way we had hoped it would be.
It is far better to remain open, to keep an optimistic outlook, and to maintain a generous spirit regardless of the outcomes of our generosity.
There is nothing to be gained by hardening our hearts simply because we were let down by someone when we were kind.
There is, however, a lot to be lost by doing so.
If we have a generous spirit, we should not try to change who we are simply because of what others have chosen to do with our generosity.
Generosity, if it is genuine and sincere, has nothing to do with outcomes anyway.
Generosity is a gift freely given to others.
What they choose to do with that gift is really none of our business.
We are in the business of giving, after all, not in the business of dictating outcomes.