The Battle

What to do when the knives are out? Find the humour, act with grace? Easier said than done, but yes, I think that is the path to follow. When to stand and fight, when to stand down? Well, it's not a science, there are no clear-cut lines, it is an art just as much of what makes up our lives is an art...

I'm not good with authority...my first reaction upon any declaration from on high is to resist (what's that Rage Against the Machine line? - "Fuck you, I'm not doing what you tell me to..." - not exactly Keats or Shelley, but I'm definitely down with the sentiment), although sometimes it doesn't really pay to resist, or there are some things not worth resisting, things not worth expending the energy on. Some would counsel "no resistance," - a supreme passivity could be seen as a strength, but again this is not in my natural make-up...

So, I was in the middle of a battle yesterday, I was the odd man out, not so foreign to me, and I watched myself as the battle (3 against 1) unfolded. I held my ground, no backing down, but I did not let the knives of aggression strike me down. I found it all a little amusing...the others brought some heat to the fight, I was cool, parried every thrust...left smiling and somewhat happy...(probably infuriated my opponents even more)...oh well...when you're feeling sunny, no one else's dark clouds can obscure the light...