Saturday, June 29, 2019

Is The Atmosphere Peaceful and Harmonious?

If in a room full of people someone becomes angry and begins shouting, the atmosphere becomes tense for everyone. However, if every person in a group feels and demonstrates warm feelings and respect for one another, the atmosphere is peaceful and Harmonious.
- Dalai Lama

Have you ever noticed that?  How much better it is to live or work with a bunch of people who show warmth and respect for each other?  Have you ever been in a situation where one person was angry all the time and overtly or covertly ( which is often the case in a poison work environment) expressing that anger?  Not nice is it? You tend to feel the heavy tension and discord in the environment before your mind can even make sense of what is going on.

So what do we do in these situations? 

First of all...don't be the yeller!  Tame your mind enough to recognize when anger is beginning to bubble up in you and then control it before it blasts out to all the people around you.  Recognize the anger, accept the anger, be accountable for the anger( no one or nothing can make you angry without your consent) , gently and nonjudgmentally allow it to pass through in a healthy way that doesn't drag people into the madness. Let it pass through and then let it go!!!!

If you are not the yeller...find out who is.  Be aware of that individual's need to explode in public.  Then become aware of that person's unconsciousness.  Know they are still unconscious and not fully aware of what they are doing. Forgive them for that because it will make your life a lot easier and it will make the group dynamic a lot healthier.  

If Jesus can make a plea to God while He is painfully being crucified, Father forgive them, for they no not what they do." Luke 23:34 ESV...you can recognize that the individual who is stirring up discord is just unconscious.  Know that it is a waste of your time  to try to understand them, fix them, get them to understand you or to change.  It doesn't do any good to actively resist or to allow yourself to get caught up in the drama. 

Step back and away physically if you can but if not, at least mentally.  (Of course if your safety is at risk that is another story...definitely get help.)

Make it a conscious effort to be one of those who "demonstrates warm feelings and respect for one another" even when the people you are dealing with aren't as committed to such a task.  Be peaceful anyway and eventually your life and the world around you will become more peaceful.

All is well.

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