Avoiding the Drama

Today I was rather pleased with myself as I neatly sidestepped a couple of folks who seemed determined to draw me into a big drama scene.  Sorry girls, I learned a long time ago to avoid the drama.
We all have drama in our lives, we can’t escape it completely.  We can, however, avoid a lot of it, and the more we practice, the more we can escape it.  Drama, for the most part, is the work of an ego that is desperately seeking attention.  This is a distraction that we do not need.  Drama is like a fog that clouds your view, your judgment, and destroys your sense of well being.  It blocks your ability to learn, to focus externally, and is almost always focused on the negative.
For example, we all know people who, with their load of drama to share, can suck the energy from a room faster than a vacuum cleaner can pull dog hair off a hardwood floor.  The trick is to avoid getting pulled into the vortex they create.  We don’t always get it right, but we can get better with practice. We must, for drama will destroy the joy that every day can bring, and this is turn can destroy the body.  You have all seen a face that has been angry for years.  That negativity is etched deeply into the face and body posture, and you can be sure there are internal signs of it as well.
Here’s an example:  Years ago I was on the ferry boat leaving Vancouver and headed for Victoria. As the boat pulled away from the dock, I sat back to engage in one of my favorite pastimes, people watching.  I watched as two men entered the lounge and sat next to each other.  One opened his newspaper while his companion relaxed back with a book.  A few moments later the man with the paper began to frown, his face darkened, his grip on the paper tightened, and he started to mumble. Drawing his companion’s attention, he stabbed a finger at the newspaper page and spoke.  His companion nodded, then returned to his book, smiling as he continued to read.
This was repeated several times on that two hour journey.  Newspapers are especially crafted, as are news casts on radio, television, and internet news, to draw strong emotion from the reader/viewer.  They are filled with drama.  Over the course of that short journey, the man with the paper continuously had his emotions manipulated by the stories he chose to read, while his companion enjoyed the trip by choosing to avoid all that drama and read a book that made him smile. By avoiding the drama, he was able to have a much more enjoyable trip.
I know it is hard to avoid the drama when it is in the room with you, carried by family and friends, but you must. Only by keeping apart from the drama can you remain non-judgmental, absorb new information, discover better solutions to problems, and enhance the quality of your own life as well as those you share space with.
This is a tough one, and we all struggle with it from time to time, but keep at it.  The rewards are worth the work.

May your journey be blessed, Pru