LESSON IN THE SILENCE

 

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

An excited charismatic man enjoying the lesson /Photo Courtesy /BULE 

Keep the Focus

Have you heard of a man who went through the most painful torture? In fact, the kind of torture he went through. Is reserved for the worst criminals of this world. However, this man was not a criminal. He had not wronged anyone. He only spoke the truth. And some people got emotionally attached to it. Because they had their own version of events. They were in charge. And they did not wish anyone to challenge their authority. And this man did not challenge them. He only said he was a son of someone. And as a son of that person. He had certain capabilities that transcended human nature. Those in authority felt threatened by his words. And they resorted to punish the man. Their punishment sought to teach the man a lesson he will not forget. And they ensured that the pain in the punishment was ultimate. He had to feel that pain in every fiber of his skin.

By the time they would be done with him. He would know who is in power. And people came in large numbers to torment one man. He had suddenly become a threat to so many people. A lot of inhuman treatment was meted against this man. There was a lot of contempt and hatred. And yet in the midst of all the violence, extreme pain, and unnecessary torture. The man remained silent. The people who were prompted to beat and mistreat the man provoked him to say something. They wanted him to repeat the same things. That the current administration found to be seditious and undermining its authority. The soldiers brutalizing the man. Employed all military tactics aimed at getting non-compliant criminals to disclose certain information they do not wish to share. But the man still said nothing.

The man remained silent not because he had nothing to say. He remained silent because he was on a mission. The assignment that he was given to fulfill was more important than the pain and mockery. The people provoking the man to say something or do something. Were nothing compared to the purpose of the assignment. This man had been sent by someone else to carry out one difficult task. And he had the integrity to let go of the pain. Letting go of the pain. Did not mean that he did not feel the pain. He did feel the pain. The whole mistreatment and violence. He endured all those bad things that thousands brought against him. But still managed to remain focused on the mission. His attention was on the instructions in the assignment. He was a wise man. Perceptive enough to know that the people showing him extreme hatred and contempt were distractions.

A hard working man focused on the mission /photo/ Pavel Danilyuk

He had an important mission to fulfill. However, getting to the finish line was not going to be smooth. He had to face challenges. And the nature of challenges this man faced were torturous experiences. Getting beaten, mocked, pierced, and spit upon for simple words he said. He was even dared to save himself. These were terrible things. Things that were meant to demoralize and steal someone’s dignity. The pain that this man endured was intolerable. None of us could bare that pain. Some could have given up on the second slap. However, this man had the courage. He took in all that pain audaciously. And set his eyes on more honorable things. He did not sought revenge. Instead, he saw a lot of ignorance among the people who tortured him. Many of them gathered to destroy a man they did not know. Most of them did not have anything against him.  

They did not know the meaning of those words he said. But the leader of the time was offended. And he weaponized his citizens against this man. The ruler’s contempt became every man’s contempt. While the people hurting and hating looked at the surface. The man they were torturing saw what was in their hearts. He saw hatred in their eyes and hearts. These were the emotions that motivated them to exert extreme suffering to him. There was nothing personal between the people who actively participated in the torture and the man being tortured. These men were only doing what they were told to do. And they did not ask questions. Though the situation was tense and full of sadness. Someone had to adult up in the crowd. And it had to be the man in extreme pain. He had to ignore his own pain and look at the bigger picture.

Petty Egos

A focused leader implementing the lessons /Photo Courtesy /Hanna Pad

His mission had a whole humanity involved. And he was not going to sacrifice humanity at the expense of men with petty egos. The man understood this reality from the beginning. He knew the ruler and his men had a problem. They suffered from petty egos. And they were getting offended by small insignificant things. Things such as, another man saying he can save the world. The men were seeing threats in almost everything. They were so obsessed with control to an extent that they could not stand another man becoming more popular than them. This man had become a real threat. And someone had to suffer the consequences. People with petty egos hurt other people. They hurt because they are emotionally attached to things. And they lack clarity and impartiality needed in to made sound judgment.  

Your lesson today is, where is your focus? Is your focus on the people shouting or the person who gave you the assignment? How do you decide between what is important and what is not important? Because this is real life. You will encounter a lot of things. People will intentionally provoke you. Some will place traps in front of your own door. They will bother you when you want nothing to do with them. When stuff like these happen. How do you manage yourself? And in situations like these. You have a lot of options. Options such as, getting low as everyone. If they lower standards. You can ever lower yours too low. But for what benefit? What do you gain by engaging in a fight with people who actually planned to hurt you? Where is your focus when all these nasty things happen? And for how long do you want to lower the standards?

Real life has a lot of things going on at the same time. You will experience people who hate you for nothing. Some will want to eat your bread all the time. And others will blatantly steal from you. Others will want to hurt you because they think you don’t deserve what you have. At this point. Your hard work will not matter. Because people who distract other people don’t care about facts. They are only interested in proving a point. They want the whole world to know that you were wrong. And they are willing to do everything in their power to get that wrong verdict out of you. So, will you keep enabling such dubious behaviors? You got to see the pettiness. And you need to protect what matters. What people say or do is not what matters. What matters is your reaction. And you must set your eyes on the right things. Don’t fight every battle. People will always be what they want to be. And that is not your problem.