One of the cool things to come out of working AA's 3rd step for me has been the practice of not playing God. In the case of this thread, it's been the practice of not trying to manipulate what other people think of me, not trying to control it, not trying to manage it and, ultimately, not caring what other ppl think about me. Now, I don't mean I get to be a jerk and then not care that other ppl were hurt.......I'm talking about the every-day type of control i'd always tried to manage. Let go.......trust I'll be ok so long as I walk the spiritual path. SOOOOOO much lighter on my feet with that practice in my life. Just tell the truth and let the chips fall where they may. And, as I said earlier, I've yet to be burned once by doing this......not once.