Lower the Level

I am the youngest of four children, all of us within a 5-year span of one another. I can't begin to guess how many times my mother told us to "Lower the Level!" In general, this meant that we had reached the end of her reserve of patience. We had become too loud, too restless, too...something, and we needed to check ourselves. We had lost control!

As a husband, father, minister, student, sports enthusiast, political junky, human being, etc., I find myself hearing my mother's voice echoing that phrase over and over again. People are so angry, but not about things that deserve such strong emotions.

So, to the following, (just as examples), I say: "Lower the Level!"

1. To the sports fan- The beauty of sports is that there is always next season. I get it. I live and die with the ups and downs of the Red Sox every year. I wave the Terrible Towel with vigor every Steelers game. I love my Cats. But, it is just a game, and you are not a victim of it. The refs are not out to get you or your team. They deserve none of the violent retribution threatened against them on social media. Be a fan. I am. But, when you feel as though tears might come, or towels might fly, or televisions might be broken...perhaps it is time to LOWER THE LEVEL.

2. To the parents- I have 4 kids. 1 of them is a teenager. I get it. I live and die with their ups and downs every day. But, they are just kids. If they don't make the right team, then they will learn from that experience. If another kid is mean to them (within reason), then they need to be taught how to deal with it in healthy ways. If a teacher gives them a hard assignment or makes a rule that you don't like, then count to 10 and take a deep breath. My parents were not involved in every aspect of my life and I did just fine. So did you. We were allowed to learn and grow and experience adversity without our parents "advocating" for us every 5 minutes. Odds are: your child is not a victim (some, of course, actually are). Be a parent, and be in your kid's corner. But, when you consider sending a nasty email to a teacher or principal (I'm guilty!), posting something on social media about someone else's child (can you believe people do this?), or causing drama with another parent over a child's argument...perhaps it is time to LOWER THE LEVEL.

3. To the social media addict- Facebook and Twitter are geat tools! I use them mostly for business, but they are also great ways to catch up with old friends, and share important information about happenings in the world. Of course, as with anything, there is a temptation to give into the crazy that appearently resides within each of us. I'm guilty, as I am passionate about a lot of issues and it is easy to type the "crazy" and hit "post". But, when you consider typing words that you would never say in front of your mother, or saying things that you would never say to your children, or proclaiming some conrete eternal truth about an issue that you know very little about because you read the headline of an article...perhaps it is time to LOWER THE LEVEL.

Don't get me wrong. There are things that we should get angry about in this world. Passion is a good thing. There are horrible injustices. There are true victims, and lots of them. So, we should probably stop focusing on the knuckle-headed stuff. After all, if we get ANGRY about everything, then how will we know the difference when it really matters?

Lower the Level...because this life matters.