Friday, February 7, 2014

Calling All Saints


It would be a rare if not implausible event to drive on a Los Angeles freeway, cut someone off at high speeds, and have that person signal you with a "no worries, please go ahead of me" hand signal. More than likely the response will vary from a loud honk to a rude middle finger gesture to a gun pointed at your head.

Even the most harmless, chill, rational person with a heart of gold will at one point or another lose their cool and express frustration towards another human being. It would be lovely if that person to whom the irritation is directed could say, "I'm so sorry darling. Is there anything I can do to help mend the situation?" 

To my children who are learning about the adult world of business, relationships, and survival, I often say when they are dinged by someone else, "Don't expect others to be saints." And if you zing someone else with your own emotional baggage, most often the other person will react with an offended ego-based reaction that meets fire with fire, or vulnerability with domination.

The only solution that has ever made sense, (aside from the the purest distillation of spiritual texts) was given by a beloved adviser: "Clear up your own side of the street."

Ultimately, we can't control the behavior of others but we can certainly work on our own. And just as a tuning fork can, through resonance, send another tuning fork into singing mode that matches its vibration, then who knows what possibilities lie in wait for the flesh and blood? If we start the cleaning machine, maybe, just maybe, it will make a U-turn and get to the other side of the street as well.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Resisting Revenge

For decades, Myanmar suffered under the yoke of brutal dictatorships, but from 2011 to 2021, it experienced a brief period of relative freed...