Losing that Aggression

I have another hint about how to survive the upcoming Holidays. Practice being nice. My fellow blogger, Bike riding donut guy writes about how difficult people can be to deal with. People seem to work themselves into a frenzy over getting ready for Christmas and buying and all of the added activities. I have kind of dropped out of this mode gradually over the last few years. Some years I put up decorations, some years I don’t and the same goes with the Christmas tree. Most years I do host the annual work Christmas party at my house. I view it as a reason to give my house its annual cleaning. I usually have to pull one or two all-nighters to get it done. And every year I close off more and more of the house as off-limits to visitors. Some of my helpful co-workers are always telling me ways to get out of having the party at my house. But I actually enjoy doing it. How else would I get my house cleaned??

As far as shopping, once you detach from that aggressive energy that makes you think you should have “what you want when you want no matter what” everything seems more relaxed. I also do this with driving. I just don’t get into the aggressive, road-rage mentality. I’m pretty sure I have passed this on to my two sons, ages 17 and 20. I’m sure you may doubt my sincerity when I say this but neither of them are aggressive drivers. If I find myself reacting impatiently while driving, one of them never fails to point out the error of my ways (you haven’t lived until you have been put in your place by a teen/young adult!) Once you let go of the impatience, you will be surprised at how much less aggravating it is to drive – no big deal.

I have read a few booklets at work about how to deal with difficult people. While there are some people who are just plain toxic, most people will respond readily to a smile, a few kind words, or in other words, being treated like valued human beings. This is not about being ‘perky’ either. I find mindless perkiness to be most irritating. This is about finding calm within yourself and reflecting your appreciation for those around you in kindness. Simple. And I ‘m pretty sure that the more you practice the more ingrained it becomes.

Today I decided to read my camera manual and set the mode for low light sunrise situations. I guess I underestimated the admonition to hold the camera real still because my photos all came out blurry. I will probably go back to auto-mode but disable the flash when I need to. It is just too challenging to hold the camera that still when it is dark, can’t see well and I am being buffeted around by wind (and my eyes are watering and my nose is running).