I Wrote This Four Years Ago …..

 

I wrote this post on facebook four years ago.   Apparently I had a sense that things were going downhill before I had my breakdown.

 

Today I'm reminded that we must remember to be careful how we treat people > what we do > how we do it > what we say / how we say it / & with what tone. Have something helpful to say? Say it in a kind and helpful way. Have something hurtful to say? Say nothing. We don't always know what is going on in someone else's life. What challenges they are facing, be they physical or emotional. How fragile they might be. How close to the edge they might be walking. I know what it's like to walk perilously close to the edge & how the touch of a feather would be all it would take to topple off that ledge. We need to be certain that 'we' are not the feather that pushes someone off the cliff. For many people life is like walking on a tightrope. Every step holds danger, anxiety, fear. Any step could be the last. And not everyone has a net to save them. While I know I'm not always successful, I try to be kind and respectful to those I deal with day to day. If someone is rude, I make a point of being pleasant to them .... NOT in a sarcastic way, but in a kind way; afterall I don't know why they are being rude. Maybe their mood is a reaction to someone else's rudeness to them. In dog training we call it 'trigger stacking'. When a series of stressful events compile to bring the dog to a breaking point. It happens with people too. You wake up late > then spill coffee on yourself > then get stuck in traffic > then can't find a parking space ..... and then you get to work and someone says something & you "go off" . And while trigger stacking often sends us to a place of frustration and anger , it can also send the 'at risk' person to the edge of that cliff. I'm writing this today because I'm experiencing some trigger stacking & feeling vunerable. And thus, I'm reminded of the need to be kind. Because we just don't know what others are going through & the impact our words or actions might have on them. Let's do our best to impact those around us in a positive way.