Friday, December 23, 2016

Stepping Past Dysfunction to Achieve Harmony and Peace

Tonight I was sitting in my living room thinking over the events of the last couple of weeks.... Actually, the last couple of years. I've had a full enjoyable schedule in spite of the stress that comes with the Holidays. I was reflecting on two very similar situations with very different outcomes. I'm not a rocket scientist but one thing I know, if you are in the presence of people who due to their own insecurities, feel and act as if they are superior to those they are around..... There will be no harmony..... Period! If you are in the presence of someone you always have to defer to to keep the peace.... There will never be true peace. Inflated egos, gross insecurities, and lack of rational thought will never foster harmony. NEVER! Harmony cannot co-exist with these traits. It can only be fostered by a spirit of equality and humility. It's hard to see the contrast between the two until you've experienced an atmosphere of constant discord for any length of time, then been removed from it to a place of peace and harmony. When you are around dysfunctional people long enough.... You just learn to live with it, turn the other cheek, or walk on eggshells, and don't poke the bear. It becomes a tiring relationship. It is emotionally and physically exhausting. When you finally take a step back 
from the problem, eventually you begin to see it for what it was..... A strain. Now looking back I can clearly see that it takes more than one person to suck the harmony out of the room. It also takes those surrounding the dysfunctional person to enable them to continue to do so. Do I miss the relationship? Yes. Do I miss the constant dysfunction? Hell no. A memory made in harmony is like a soft warm blanket on a bitterly cold night, and not one I will look back on with mixed emotions..... Just genuine amazement that life is much more peaceful on the other side of dysfunction.