This is a reply to a comment by Easter House on one of my blogs, I figured it needs a page of its own so the message can be spread more easily. To view the original comment and reply, please see the comment section on my last piece, One More Day.

I don’t blame you for feeling that way. Truly, we all feel the pain and anger every time we see or read hurtful comments about Maine in TV and in social media. The natural instinct is to fight back and rally in defense. There is nothing wrong with that.

However, it is not as much as to WHY we respond but as to HOW we respond. Anger and pain almost always bring out the best and worst in us, the latter most often. We always think about how other people push our limits and we have no other choice but to fight back. We begin to feel that we are willing to risk polite conversation and turn it into a violent confrontation just to prove our point. At this moment, we have lost our battle.

Holding back and keeping our composure is a virtue. It does not mean we are weak- It means we are in control. We must not let our emotions get ahead of us. Gautama Buddha aptly described it: “Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.”

Let’s all be positive and avoid confrontations. This is the best defense, not against the bashers and the negative thinkers all over the world, but against ourselves when we slip out of self-control.

Remember, even Maine once said: “There is no room for negativity in my journey.. Take it somewhere else.”

This too should be our battle cry, to ignore all negatives and focus on the positives- the good vibes. This fandom was formed out of happiness and love, the least we can do is to try to keep it that way.