KEEP CALM
Pretend it wasn’t you!
I am sure you have all seen the words, Keep Calm, on a poster, flyer, T-shirt, or elsewhere. I especially like the sub-title above: pretend it wasn’t you! Ah, so easy to be calm when life is great, but not when things are crazy around you. I laughed out loud when I read these words, “Never in the history of calming down has anyone calmed down by being told to calm down.” Isn’t that a fact! How many times have you said or heard someone say in the heat of a stressful situation, “Don’t tell me to calm down!”
Friends, stress is not good for your overall health. With the hassle of school openings this month, flared tempers, idiotic drivers, delayed travel, and long commutes, we need a distraction. What better way than with a little humor to break the spell and retain our sanity? Here are a few humorous ways:
Look at the person causing the distress and visualize him/her in underwear.
Don’t bother showing half of the peace sign, shake the pinky rigorously.
Sniff, sniff the air as if smelling something repugnant.
Sing to yourself and make it a song you really like; it will change the chemical balance in your brain.
However stressful the situation, pretend that it’s not happening to you, but to someone you don’t like.
Men, flex your pectorals; women, your biceps.
Instead of counting to ten, bring on a loud sneeze…achoo.
These suggestions are intended to defuse the situation—try anyone of them the next time you feel the aggression coming on. Michelle Obama had said, “When they go low, we go high,” but change that to “When they go low, we go elsewhere.” Anywhere else—so as not to let the situation get the best of you.
More importantly, keep this at the forefront: When you really care about someone, their mistakes never change your feelings because it is the mind that gets angry; the heart still cares. Smile with Kirk Franklin.
