Dec 5, 2014

What About the Children?

Blog

“When words are both true and kind, they can change our world.” Buddha

A few weeks ago, I saw first-hand how the right environment and guidance can influence a person’s perspective on situations. I overheard a conversation between a former client and another person that showed me the impact one person can have on a highly charged conflict with just a single comment. Essentially, the topic was about some very destructive postings on a Facebook page by one spouse about the other.

Instead of taking sides or escalating the situation by encouraging the person in their behavior, the client asked, “What about the children?” Her concern was that the children might inadvertently see these postings or hear about them from others. This simple question revealed how viewing conflict through a different lens can help people see the situation outside their own instinctive need to retaliate.

One of the primary goals at the Alpha Center is to guide people toward making good decisions and responding thoughtfully during a stressful time. This often requires a considered decision to resist the human instinct to strike back for an offense in favor of higher road to resolution. What struck me was that I was seeing the message of our program carried by our client into a real life situation. As Maya Angelou said, “When you know better, you do better”. And it can start with one person at a time until it becomes a social movement that impacts how we deal with each other.

Keila M. Gilbert, Esq.