Step Back from the EDGE

Redirecting Rage

The Edge is the cliff where you stand whenever you are certain you are RIGHT. If you look up “Righteous”, you will find many versions of the following: “of behavior that is morally justifiable or right. Such behavior is characterized by accepted standards of morality”.  

What standards? Yours? Your religion’s? Your country’s? What makes your view “justifiable”? Perhaps it is evident where this is leading. 

You determine your certainty and your Rightness throughout your life. It is the total of what you have experienced and learned. And if you learned different things than the other guy, what then? You get to be RIGHT and he/she gets to be wrong.  

And so you stand at the edge of the cliff, certain that you are working from a justifiable morality. You hold onto this certainty because the abyss awaits you the moment you give an inch. It is a cliff built on your assumptions and, your greatest fears. There is a feeling that accompanies “THE EDGE”.  The feeling might include panic, righteousness, and even a subtle sense of desperation, but it is always emotional. 

The Abyss that you fear is generally out of your control. That is why you are afraid. The concerns you have may or may not be true, but you will have an investment in their TRUTH. And you will act on this Truth in ways that may cost you significantly, but you are certain you have no choice. The greater your fear, the more likely you are to do something which will cause damage. 

There is another view that might enrich your perspective. Perhaps the EDGE you stand on, and the ABYSS you fear are created by your beliefs and those beliefs sometimes represent an attempt to assign blame or deny responsibility for some of the things you do have control over. If it is everyone else’s fault, you can ignore the things you may be doing which cause you to continue to lose ground as you rage against the faults and decisions of others. 

Stay tuned for more additions