Depends how close I am to inner peace.
Working with troubled students, I could not afford to lose my calm.
So I always had to act quickly, avoid confrontation, deflect, use humour and move on. Looking in the distance helped, as did breathing slowly. Shouting would achieve nothing, so lowering my voice helped. Thinking as I speak. A smile always helps.
As a boy I had to witness verbal and physical abuse. Retreating into my room, listening to music, singing, playing the piano, or going for a walk, being friends with nature, enabled me to move on, seeing my friends, an only child.
I’m naturally very calm, but in the past I’ve had to learn techniques to deal with confrontational situations. The Zen masters have a lot to offer, so do the writers of the Psalms. The image a fountain, or running water helps.
I’ve always been able to resort to humour, my best defender, deflector and my friend.
