In this parsha, Moses enacts a ritual that involves the entire community. He divides all the people into two camps. As he recites a litany of blessings and curses, half the tribes embody the former, and half embody the latter. Some stand for positivity, and some negativity.
As Moses did with the people, so do we do with individuals. We type them and label them: “detractors, naysayers, and complainers,” “helpers, optimists, and achievers.” Some people, we decide, have a positive influence in our lives, and some a negative.
But human beings are far more complex than that. The way someone relates to me is not the way s/he relates to everyone else. The sliver of a person’s being I get to see likely does not represent their entire humanity. Further, people change over time—the sense I got from someone years ago may not be who they are today; my encounter with someone who was upset this morning may have more to do with what they just experienced than who they are.
Still, it can be frustrating when the only aspect we see of an individual is negativity and complaint. It’s helpful to remember that that’s not the whole person.
More powerful still is to invert their negative energy. Can you see past their bitterness and consider whether their observations have merit? Can you share their passion but decline their negativity? Can you turn their “curse” into a “blessing”?
No comments:
Post a Comment