There are times when I consider my experience as a mediator a well expended effort to learn about life and how our lives intersect and in that intersection how we affect one another in very significant ways. Those of us who believe themselves to have the least influence, have more influence than they imagine. They can cause peace or choose not to.
The important thing is to recognize we have a choice in how we influence each other. We are not victims but human beings with power to create our lives in a way that is a benefit to this world or is antagonistic to this world. The choice is ours to make.
To illustrate my point, I am pointing to those people who cling to a negative mindset. As a mediator, it is my job to listen and to weed out to what is extraneous and will not assist in resolving a dispute. I readily welcome and look forward to doing my best work as a mediator. I like knowing I assist in giving people peace of mind. The absolute best way I can do that is to keep myself optimistic, resilient,and happy with a good sense of humor. I look for friends who choose to see the glass half full. There is no way I can bring negative people up...they will have more success in bringing me down... if I allow it to happen.
Therefore, I must continually decide who I will keep in my life. I'm not talking about people who fall on hard times for those are normally temporary. My heart goes out to Sandy Storm survivors who lost their homes through no fault of their own and to people in Newtown, Ct. and everywhere else we have real challenge and sadness. I just have a hard time with people who choose to be negative. AND that is their choice. Just not mine. God bless us everyone.
