Happy Monday, All!
Well, it would be appropriate if I wished that you each had an enjoyable weekend, wouldn’t it? So, I hope you did … as well. As December slipped into our lives this past Saturday, I hardly noticed it! That’s how feelings and emotions are, if you haven’t already noticed … they just kind of well up until … you feel it! Sometimes, we are not sure where they came from nor what caused them. One of my tools for handling these unannounced arrival of emotions is meditation, prayer coupled with a bit of philosophy, if you will.
This was kind of a crazy weekend nationally considering top events like the millionaire football player who first killed his “baby’s momma”, then, went to his team’s locker room and stood in front of the coaches and shot himself in the head! To say the least, that was shocking for me … what about you? Have you ever felt that way? Thank God, I haven’t … peace be still. Then here in Miami, there was an attempted robbery going on at a car wash in “the neighborhood”. The owner of the car wash, a benevolent Jamaican born cricket player, tried to thwart the robbery, which was about to take place on his property. He was shot at point blank range … and later died from the wounds. On occasion, I take a step back when I am feeling a bit perturbed about things and analyze my own feelings and try to search for a way to handle those powerful emotions that all humans have.
As of yet, though I have experienced some heart-wrenching emotions, I have not had to resort to any extreme forms of activity … except once when I resorted to a firearm for protection. Some years ago, I noticed I had low toleration for “racist behavior” and had to learn to check myself in the face of an obviously ignorant racist person. My father, who noticed this inclination in me, sat me down and told me simply, “You can beat up everybody!” Now, I have never been a bully but once I started to play sports and became aware of my physique, I had to learn to harness that urge to “punch somebody in the mouth” … peace be still. I had been knocked out by punches in basketball games at the playground in the projects where I grew up, so I knew that I could be taken down! When I played organized football in prep school, I recall one hit after I had caught a pass that rendered me nearly unconscious. So, I knew the feeling and didn’t like it … so why would anybody else!?
I often seek simple phrases or mantras, even anecdotes if you will, to help me pull through some “not so comfortable” feelings.
“Whatever you fight, you strengthen, and, what you resist, persists.” – Eckhart Tolle
During this holiday season, reach out to others who may be feeling something extreme inside and may want to take drastic measures to deal with that feeling. Encourage them to sit through those feelings without taking action, and, when they can take action, help them choose something healthy … like helping a fellow human being in need, perhaps!
Have a great week, All!
Peace,
John I. Cook, Director
Educational Excellence 