wednesday, february 28, 2007

 

I’m always amazed at the human spirit and the things that we are capable of doing and achieving if we put our minds to it. More specifically, if we put our spirits to it. Even the possibility of shifting our anger. For example, I have definite opinions about morality issues, political issues, spiritual issues, family issues and community issues. These are inherently my opinions and my opinions only.  Some have changed or been redefined over the years but one thing remains for certain; they are all mine. I can’t fault you for yours and you definitely can’t fault me for mine. With that being said, I am an avid college basketball fan. I am a fanatic just like millions of people in this country. I fell in love with a team when I was a little girl and I have stuck with them for years. They lose, I get mad. I get real mad. They win; all is right with the world. At least for that moment. So my team loses the other day and I am really, really mad. I can’t even talk about it. So I decide to look at an episode of 60 minutes in which Mike Wallace is interviewing a very popular, very right wing radio personality whom because of my very own “opinions”, do not have much love for. More specifically, not much love for his “opinions”. But they are his opinions and his opinions only.  Just like that, my anger shifts from the loss of the game to the comments of this person who shall remain nameless. As I listen to him, I feel myself getting really outraged by his “thought process”. When the interviewer stated to the personality that he was in love with his perceived power he quickly denied it. My “thought process” quickly said “yeah right, Mr. 10 million dollars a year”. Wow 10 million dollars just for spouting your idiotic opinions over the air!??? What a country!! I was no longer outraged at the loss that my team endured. It all of so sudden felt so meaningless. I had better things to be angry about. But was it his misguided, albeit his own opinions or was it the 10 million dollars he was being paid to have them? Did my spirit lead me to this shifted anger because I had better things to be angry about or should I have ignored his comments and let the loss of a game consume me? At least with the latter, I would have been angry for only a day.