Should I just be tougher?

Something totally unexpected happened this week. Someone took a swing at my business in hopes of harming us and our reputation.

WHAT???!!!

Yep, get over yourself, Mary Sunshine… Shit happens. (and no, I’m not going to talk about the details of what happened at this point.)

I find the process interesting when something like this happens. I swing from “well, we’ll just rise above it” to “just wait until I find out who did this!” Peace maker to commando and back again… and again.

And while the process isn’t complete… I’m trying to settle into the middle somewhere, hurrying towards “picking ourselves up, dusting ourselves off” and getting on with the business of business.

We often talk about the downtown community, the arts district as a whole… but when something like this happens, I wonder what kind of community this is, if in fact it is one at all. I would hope as a community, that if someone takes exception to something I do, or questions a business practice, they might stop in and talk it out…or even yell it out with me. But to just go directly to a higher authority to get the proverbial boom dropped on me with no warning just stinks. Maybe I just need to be tougher. Maybe I need to not give a damn about this “community.”

But at this point, I’m clinging to the value of community. I made a commitment to this community back in 2007 so I’m not going to let one crank mess with my dreams.

So I won’t get tougher… but I will get smarter. I’ll work harder, cleaner and be a better neighbor so that the gallery and the community might see greater success.

And I’m really going to try to walk away from this experience with a renewed commitment to shine brighter and to remember to always have the backs of my neighbors as most of them have mine.

And to the one who decided to throw us under the bus? Good luck with karma.