One of my greatest temptations these days is to withdraw from the world, from large gatherings, from small gatherings and even from other people individually. It seems that it is no longer safe to discuss politics even with family members or even to drive across the city. It seems that even going to Kroger is a stressful cart-pushing gamble among tense people ready to explode if you get in their way or hold them up for a second too long. It seems like just driving down the street to a restaurant or a doctor's appointment has become similar to entering a "demolition derby" at the county fair where angry drivers will fight you for every inch of advantage.
I refuse to have a Face Book page. I won't even sign up to view other people's Face Book pages. They do have some nice photographs and some news updates, but they are also filled with gossip, character assassination and brainless rantings. My personal blog has an Encouraging Word no-ranting philosophy behind it, but even so every once in a while I will get a royal chewing out because of something I said that others do not agree with!
I used to love watching news programs, but not any more! I am very careful about how much news I ingest and where the source of that news comes from! These days, I try to restrict myself to about an hour a day. I can usually tell what source of news people watch just by the way they talk about current events. Some of the stuff that comes out of so-called "educated" people's mouths simply astounds me and causes me to be tempted to lash out at them or minimally to try to avoid them. Even Catholics can say things about the Pope that make me cringe. I can usually recognize the source of their news and views which makes me even angrier! Most of the time, I just bite my tongue and move on because I know a rational discussion is probably impossible.
I used to fly a lot, but right now I have no desire to get on a plane or go through an airport any more even though I have over 400,000 frequent flyer miles and could go about anywhere in the world basically for free. People are acting up on airplanes, striking flight attendants, pushing and shoving other passengers and spewing curses and foul language when they don't like following the safety guidelines.
In this essay, I am not even going to attempt to tell others how to control themselves in public. That would probably be a waste of my time. I am writing this to remind myself how to control myself when I am around the crudeness, meanness and rudeness of others when I am interacting with them. Here are some techniques I try to use on myself. (1) Before I leave the house or get in my car, I try to take a few moments to calm myself and "have a few words with myself" about the need to keep my reactions under control. (2) When going into a stressful environment, I bought a set of earbuds that allow me to have soothing music overpowering all the outside noise coming into my ears. (3) When driving, I look for opportunities to "allow" people to get ahead of me, instead of engaging in "punishing behaviors" like speeding up, slowing down or honking my horn. (4) Most of all, I am seriously restricting the amount and source of the news that I watch each day, replacing it with more peaceful prayer time, good reading or relaxing silence.
As that old hymn I like to quote says, "No storm can shake my inmost calm while to that Rock I'm clinging. Since love is Lord of heaven and earth, how can I keep from singing?" I thank God every day that I have the privilege of living alone. It gives me the time, the space and the peace to recover from "going out" and "being with" crowds of people!
No comments:
Post a Comment