Skáldskapr: Working things out.

QUEST: My neighbor is a real jerk. How can I work things out with him?

Sometimes humans are overcome with the spirits of pain, or suffering. Sometimes the spirits of anger overcomes us, we must always remember, if we were perfect, we would be a god. The heart may be hardened towards others for many different reasons. The first step is to open a line of peaceful communication. While this may seem to be challenging, remember to keep peace in one’s own heart, as this peace is communicated without intent. It travels off the lips of those who have inner peace, easily.

In other cases, the challenge that we have with different individuals may not have any real substance, for the real issue may lie within our own heart. So, to initiate a situation for changing the interactions with a particular individual, or group of peoples, first, check your own peace. Determine why, and how you feel about them before ever trying to communicate with them.

TEACHINGS:

There are many fables that speak of the melting of a hardened heart by kindness and goodwill, and in this situation should be no different. Again, as I’ve said before, we must evaluate our own heart to ensure that we are no magnifying the anger or resentment. The most beneficial position is the one where one has inner peace.

Difficult peoples are very much like the frozen grounds of Alaska during the winter. As the sun face shines upon the lands, like kindness upon a frozen heart. The hardened shell melts away to reveal the beauty beneath.

The task for each of us is to ensure that we learn how to listen, in some cases these hardened individuals just want to talk. They want someone to actual hear them. In most cases this comes across to others as being angry or confrontational, whereas they are frustrated by what seems to be the lack of a voice. The societies we have built in these modern day world are typically polluted with a whole lot of talk about nothing. However this talk has a tendency to drown out the individual voices that want to be heard.

Learning to spend more time listening than talking was the idea from the Creator, as he gave us two ears, and only one mouth. Communications is a two-way street that we must spend equal time in each lane. Help our friends and family, and strangers alike, have that voice that is heard.