Friends, what do you do when you are really
upset or angry or hurt?
Do you vent by talking to others?
Venting is letting off steam. Or any bad
feelings.
Animals don’t vent, they fight.
Often, humans are not allowed to fight, so they
‘vent’ by talking it out.
Sometimes they talk to their close friends or to
themselves.
Last week, a friend posted this on Facebook:
Okay, it is not always good to vent.
It has been observed that sometimes when you
vent,
1) Everybody comes to know of your misery
2) Unwanted solutions are offered
3) People hear you but don’t really listen (Not
everybody has time, you see)
4) It doesn’t always make you feel better
So, you may ask, what are the alternatives?
I asked around and found that friends have
some brilliant alternatives.
1) Go for a walk or a run
2) Write it down and tear it up
3) Write it down and give it to the offender (Warning:
This sometimes sets off a chain reaction)
4) Read
5) Eat / Drink
6) Yoga
7) Dance
8) Cry
9) Watch cartoons or porn or travel videos or sermons
(depending on the age group)
10) Use a deadly tool – Silence
If all of the above don’t work, just tell your
best friend/s.
Well, that leaves us in square one again, doesn’t
it?
I turned to people in the past and the image of
my Grandma Rosemary came to mind. We fondly called her Mamai.
Mamai was widowed in her early twenties. With
three little children to look after, she worked as a day labourer on a farm.
She lived for eighty years. I had never seen her vent and yet she was the
epitome of peacefulness. Surely she had a secret technique.
I juggled my memory and remembered what she had
once told me:
“My dear, always talk to God. He is your best
friend. If you have problems, give them to Him and He will solve them. Once you
give them to Him, you can live in peace.”
