‘Conquer the angry one by not getting angry, conquer the wicked by goodness, conquer the stingy by generosity & the liar by speaking the truth’
Guatama Buddha
What a week it’s been. We’ve had the Commonwealth celebrations, the start of lockdown exit map with the brilliant news that covid rates are beginning to go down, the Meghan and Harry interview with Oprah and Piers Morgan leaving Good Morning Britain because his truth is so different to that of many others and yet it is a truth he feels he must stand by.
I felt so rocked and saddened by some of the things that have been aired this week that it made me think again about what our personal truth is and how differently each of us perceive the words, phrases and attitudes that we are on the receiving end of as we go through life.
It really made me think about how difficult it is to not get angry when you are confronted with an angry person, or to ‘turn the other cheek’ as Christians are taught. How much easier it is to simply lash out in response and create more hurt and pain rather than finding more healthy ways to communicate with each other in order to find a resolution that heals. It also made me think about how different my truth is to that of my own family members. I believe that God made each of us unique and individual and that this is why we can experience the same situation in very different ways. It’s why some of us can seem tactless or guileless and others may be hyper self-aware, why some people manage to see the good in everyone no matter how offensive they actually are whilst others constantly look for things to be offended about. No wonder life is such a mine field at times.
How wise are Guatama Buddha’s words quoted above yet how difficult to live by. Have you experienced a visceral response to any of the news this week? How have you managed that if so? Do you think it is possible to not get angry when confronted with anger or to conquer lies with truth in all situations?
I’m always happy to swap thoughts on this if you’d like to explore it a bit more. You are very welcome to call me directly on my mobile: 07526 378529 to chat or if you prefer you can contact us via email on info@mitechaplaincy.com where you can request a call-back.
Debbie.
We also have a range of resources on our web-site including some that are more specific to the Covid-19 outbreak and some that help in dealing with stress: https://mite.org.uk and you can easily keep in touch with us on social media: Facebook: @mitechaplaincy Twitter: @mitesthwarr
