drama queens

Just a few thoughts that wander by....
I know a large number of people who insist they 'don't like drama', and yet seem to live in a swirl of it, constantly.  
Perhaps they don't consider themselves drama queens (of either gender).  Perhaps they think it's always 'other' people who cause the drama.
Perhaps they really do like drama, and it makes them feel alive or something, but it sounds better to them to say they don't like it.
I don't know.


What I do know is that, truly, dramatics and artificial excitement are completely unnecessary.  We do choose how we react to circumstances.  We can either get caught up in everyone else's emotional whirlpool or we can elect to remain calm and view things objectively. We can take a few little events and focus entirely on what could potentially be the outcome from those, or step back, look at things rationally, and decide to wait for more information.  
I realize that the adrenaline rush and the thrill of intense emotions may become addicting.  Whether it's political news or personal events, many folks I know just love to jump in immediately and start reacting.  Mostly, the outcomes of either were never going to be affected by our reactions - but somehow, just the very act of reacting must make people feel as though they have more importance than they do.
I'm not saying we shouldn't respond to news - what I'm talking about is that almost automatic reaction so many seem to have that causes them to immediately begin getting involved emotionally rather than objectively.  If the emotional aspect is high then whatever they do to research the facts, the results will be coloured by those emotions.


All of us have hot buttons.  There are many issues that trigger mine - child, animal or elder abuse, injustice and bigotry are just a few.  And I know I will react faster to any of those without necessarily taking the time to actually find out all the facts. 
But I can be taught.  
I can be presented with opposing facts, and actually consider them.  Sometimes I can even change my mind.  (Sometimes I wonder about myself, because I CAN hold two completely opposing ideas in my mind and see the truth on both sides.  Is that good, or should I see somebody?)


The people I'm writing about are those who immediately jump to the most familiar conclusion, the one where they feel most at home, and then loudly insist that that is the ONLY conclusion that can be drawn.  Whether it's personal drama ("OMG, she SAID that??") or political ("Those damn' >>>>whichevers<<<<are doing it again! The country will go to hell in a handbasket!"), there's not any real consideration involved.  Everything is grist to the 'I knew it!' mill.  Everything points to the same conclusion.  There's not any actual work involved to understand the whys and the history behind the issues.  There's no attempt to consider whether, perhaps, just this one time, there's another set of facts involved that COULD lead to a different conclusion.


Whether it's the leap to 'the end of the world is nigh' as far as a relationship or a political event, I'm just very tired of seeing this repeated ad nauseum.  We have good brains.  We do need to exercise them regularly and, as Frank Zappa most famously said, 'brains are like parachutes - they only work when they're open'.


So.  Forget the excitement of artificial drama.  Grow up.  USE your brain.  Don't assume that anyone in disagreement with you is automatically part of the evil empire.  Consider facts (even if it hurts) and challenges to your preconceived ideas.  Work on a rational basis for what you believe to be true.  If necessary, even - yes, really - CHANGE your mind!




After all - one of the best ways to fight Alzheimer's is to exercise your brain ;+D


                                                           later - keep dancing -