Thought Picnic: Hold back reflex as you reflect for love

Moments to reflect

A teaching moment, a humbling moment, an understanding moment and a compassionate moment.

That is what I have desired that we take away from certain experiences of life when we look at the cards we have been dealt that do not look like we would walk off with the pot.

More often than not, we do not win the jackpot much as we participate in the lottery, we hope we have picked the right numbers but the picking of the winning numbers is completely out of our control.

It is then left to luck, good fortune, favour, blessing, chance or any convenient description of how opportunity and timing coincide to create advantage and gain.

The reflex to moments

The moments described above require patience and reflection, reflection desires that whatever we have determined to say or do be delayed to have a broader perspective especially when that perspective does not agree with us.

Yet you find many who have charted a different course, they find their greatest expression in a rude moment, an abusive moment, a dishonest moment, a disingenuous moment, an expletive-laden moment, a belittling moment, an unreasonable moment, an uncharitable moment and a hateful moment.

Their capacity to demonstrate this with a knack of genius and experience would make them icons of intemperance and much as you might be tempted to respond in like manner or take the high moral ground, the best thing to do is to ignore them.

Rethink the act

For a person who seeks to learn can be taught and in being taught is humbled into realising that a wider and diverse world of life, perspective, opinions, experiences and knowledge exists beyond them.

This brings understanding to reason and being reasonable, in which one can then find the bowels of compassion to engage with others; that is the essence of our humanity.

That is why I love about those who take the moments to reflect over those who seize the moment for reflex.

Between reflective Obama and reflexive McCain

Still no bailout yet

There were probably some people waiting with bated breath to hear that a deal had been done for the $700 billion bailout of US banks.

In fact, at one time, the news suggested that a deal had been done in principle and not long after it appeared no deal had been done yet [1], people have been shouting at each other – I suppose you can call that debate.

The maverick decides

The move by Maverick McCain to suspend his campaign [2] and move lock, stock and barrel to Washington to trash out a deal with the emotion of concern that almost left us impressed with his commitment was a stunt in everything but name.

Barack Obama refused to be barracked into conceding that leadership was about dropping everything for one thing when generally leaders have to contend with multiple issues in different spheres and still be on top of things.

In fact, once again, the man showed a sense of balance and proportion that one would have expected of an older head like McCain’s who by tradition, one would have thought would be wiser too.

Need for an unadulterated debate

The Presidential candidates do indeed need to work on helping trash out a bi-partisan deal but that should have been done in the background without infecting the debate and negotiations with campaign distraction – McCain’s move was more to stir up the waters and try to wrestle from our minds the fact that he is not that clued in on financial matters.

The foreign policy presidential debate which might take place today would indeed have been overrun with questions about the financial turmoil hitting the markets – it is unlikely that Senator McCain would have been able to convey an air of competence on those matters – in fact, we are just about getting bored with the military and prisoner of war anecdotes that bear no particular significance to the lives and people of today.

News comes in now that Senator McCain would be attending the debate after all [3] – Bless him! Or did I mean something else?

Reflect on the reflex

This man is impulsive, reactionary, driven by sensational whim and devoid of the coolness under pressure that is needed to run a ship of state that is global in its remit.

The fact is 300 million Americans will be electing for 6.3 billion people of the world the next person who can dictate the pace and direction of the near-future world order.

If indeed suspending his campaign in order to concentrate minds had yesterday achieved the impossible and unlikely result, we might have praised him for having great insight and foresight; but as it stands, he has again been reckless and intemperate in the appreciation of issues; I am beginning to have a greater fear for John McCain as president than the looming tsunami of a recession turning into a depression.

None of the options available would have been my choices, but with the choices we now have, I am as sure as I can be that McCain cannot be the right option for a world that needs the calming influence of a reflective leader rather than the impulsive determination of a reflexive maverick.

Sources

[1] BBC NEWS | Business | Bush says bail-out will be passed

[2] McCain suspends campaign to work on Wall St plan | U.S. | Reuters

[3] McCain will attend debate, campaign says - The Debates- msnbc.com