I've been reading a lot lately about the shifting energies currently present in the Universe. To some, this might seem like a bunch of hippy dippy new agey blah blah, but to me, if feels right on. It seems lately that everyone is speaking their minds, sometimes at the expense of others' feelings. At the same time, I've been finding that more of the people I encounter, whether online or in real time, are becoming combative and downright nasty when they experience ideas contrary to their own. Never in my life have I felt more under attack for the beliefs and ideologies that I hold near and dear. And never in my life have I felt the necessity to hold fast to those beliefs and ideologies, and to remain true to them, even if it means I might get a whole basket load of shit for having them. I'm tired of people claiming to have tender ears when their mouths seem to be working just fine. Conversation is a two way proposition, and though I generally try to stay out of attack mode, sometimes words rise and release before I've had a chance to think them through and emote from a place of lesser passion.
Though I usually consider they way in which I've spoken to another person if I've allowed my temper to flare, sometimes anger is an appropriate reaction, a response to someone who richly needs to be told that they are (in my humble opinion) out of line. There are many religious schools of thought teaching us that snark is never the way to roll, but I'm beginning to believe that there are situations where a quick witted answer is just what the doctor ordered. If nothing else, it sometimes earns me a laugh later on. Of course, at times, the opposite is true. If I'm attempting to win another person to my way of thinking, for example, I find it better to attempt a discovery of common ground before entering into heated debate. The same is true if I know I'm not going to persuade the individual in question that my way is conducive to their own way of thinking, but desire some sort of mutual understanding. Being sarcastic doesn't assist the debater in these types of dialogue. Where it does sometimes feel right and good is when one person has become abusive to another person and needs to be informed, in a method leaving no room for doubt about the meaning behind one's words, that they should seriously re-consider their actions because what they are doing is not going to be tolerated. Such was the case yesterday when I told someone who thought it was okay to look down on a struggling addict/alcoholic and say wise ass things to him or her that speaking in the tone and using the verbiage he'd selected was a good way to get punched in the face. I received a few approving glances and one semi-shocked glare, but for the most part everyone else in that room seemed to agree with me, and the words a few of them spoke later on affirmed this. Maybe I've been in Florida for too long (I know I have been), but I'm fed up and tired of rude, thoughtless, back stabbing people who feel like they can be assholes with impunity. And, when dealing in recovery, the words we speak can literally mean life or death for the person hearing them.
I'm finished being a people pleaser for fear of having my heart broken over the truth. Done. I will try to be diplomatic and kind, and I'll remember the concept of grace and try to walk the path of a peaceful warrior. But I'm not buying into the b.s. anymore.
