The Navy Seals have a mantra that “calm is contagious”. Just the same that fear and anger are contagious. The vast majority of us are not Navy Seals, and for good reason. The training these service members have to go through and the sacrifices they endure push them to their mental and physical limits in ways hard to imagine. They are the best of the best in what they do. But this mantra caught my eye. Calm is contagious. As humans we are emotional beings, but it is not our emotions that drive our rational decision making. And this rational decision making is crucial in conflict. The same conflict that we experience in our daily lives. Our relationships, our work, in dealing with our internal self talk.
It is in our calmness that we connect with others. It is in our calmness that we see clearly. It is in our calmness that we navigate difficult conflict. It is in our calmness that we heal. When we are calm, our rational mind has the ability to see a greater reality. We can see that we are not our problems, we are not our negative self talk. In our calmness we can see that our partners are just as fallible as we are. When we are calm we can make decisions from love, not fear. When we are calm we can see that we are bigger than that fear and overwhelming emotion that we experience.
All conflict is resolved from a clear, calm mind. Not all conflict can be resolved, however. But no conflict, argument, or self defeating self talk is healed from our wounded emotional state. It is in this state of calm understanding that we can clearly see ourselves, others, our partners, and our circumstances for what they are. We can make peace, we can make the best out of difficult situations.
If we want peace and calmness in our lives, we have to find that calm center in ourselves. This our responsibility to ourselves and our gift to others.
What are your thoughts?