Tact and compassion. Concepts worth examining and contemplating when the world goes awry.
As a child, I could have never fathomed prior to my time as a servant of the public the things that I have been witness to. Had I known, would I have still chosen my line of work? I believe I still would have because the precious moments of clarity that I have been provided have defined life in ways that offer a glimpse into the profound that very few are privy to.
Unfortunately in life, you will be overcome with anger and fear at times. I certainly have. You have two choices in those situations: you can either aggravate the inflamed situation by trying to assert your authority (of which you really have none to begin with) or you can try to level with the world, groups of people, or even just a single person depending on the situation. Approach is everything. The words you speak matter. I have learned that with terrible results and with inspiring ones. One of the most important choices that we make is what you allow to travel from a brain synapse to a breath of air through vocal chords that then form into a statement or a proclamation. The above mentioned brain synapse is fragile and can be hijacked easily with emotions. Anger and fear being the greatest of these emotions. Anger and fear are a thief of reason. They steal your ability for positive recourse and substitute their own motives and actions for the ones that you would normally have used as a tool to solve a problem with lasting results. Emotions are unavoidable but how you react to them holds no higher importance.
Life is scary. Life will make you angry. Those are facts. When faced with these emotions, if they are to be conquered an individual has to first recognize and be aware of them. Keenly. Vigilantly. They are quite obvious when they rear their heads, so they are impossible to ignore. They can come out of thin air in an instant, but recognition is key to the next step. You are in control of your response, but not the catalyst or the trigger. We can’t control what makes us angry, or what makes us afraid. Those are reflexes. We are assaulted daily by external stimuli that is designed to evoke a reactionary response from us. It happens constantly, 24 hours a day. We are human, however, and whether you draw from faith, or science, or any other source of inspiration, how you react is within the realm of your control.
We don’t speak to ourselves enough. We don’t have useful and meaningful inner dialogue with our own hearts nearly as much as we should. We have forgotten how to draw from our own volition to see the true nature of our personal convictions before we react. We are ignoring those things that we hold dear to our core as absolute and unwavering. If we are ever to regain control of our trajectory, we have to regain control of our reaction. The world cannot be meaningfully navigated by slap-stick response. The destination of personal peace and happiness can only be reached with meaningful contemplation and adaption to uncontrolled scenarios. It is a challenge that we have been faced with since the dawn of humanity, but it is possible. When we don’t speak to ourselves, truthfully, before speaking to others, we are reactionary in our conversation and that can cause judgement and condescension. We are skipping the step of obtaining quiet resolve that has been used by everyone from monks to soldiers.
The point of all of this is that I truly believe that at their core, most people that walk this blue and green marble have the capacity for kindness and compassion. Titles, badges, careers, social circles, and even casual acquaintances can make you lose sight of this in an instant when you forget to prioritize kindness and compassion above everything else. Being led by our external personal titles leads to presupposition, and that is dangerous. It causes us to judge and categorize. That is the root of all social hierarchy and is useless in determining how to climb rather than to sink.
We don’t know what (who) we don’t know.
Take a breath. Step back from the ledge and contemplate who you are. Don’t let the world dictate that. Personal accountability is greater than worrying over the paths of others. I promise it’s contagious. Be better, and they will be better. None of us are greater than the others.