|
||
|
When You Think The World Has Turned Its Back On
You, Take A Look. You Have Most Likely Turned Your Back On The World. |
||||
 |
By Gerry Shannon, Director | |||
| Forgiveness is primarily for our own sake, so that we no longer carry the burden of resentment. But to forgive does not mean we will allow injustice again. Every action we take has an equal and opposite reaction, it’s the Law of Physics.
If our lives are in turmoil we are creating most of it. Within the San Francisco Fire Department, we have the means to create our own peace but we are choosing to foster resentment across the battle lines we have created. Charges are being files; monies and energy are being spent at a time when we should be enjoying our economic prosperity, to gain what? There is no winner. It has beengoing on too long; all that has changed are the names. Curiosity is an anecdote to judgement, it will soften resistance. People resist for good reasons; the problem is the good reasons are hidden under the surface. Just being open or curious to another person’s perspective, without making them wrong, offer a solution to judgements. |
||||
| You may even find value in their actions. With whatever measure you judge, so you will be judged. This isn’t religion, it is a rule of nature, and you make yourself a target by targeting others. Who would speak poorly of another that only had kind things to say to or about his peers? It’s the same with resentment; we pass it around and build on it, every one who contributes. Some laughed at what Rodney King said but it was a very astute questing, why can’t we?
We have a new Chief arriving August 1st, what will his first impression of our Department be? I’m sure he has been briefed on where a good portion of his effort, to build an efficient unit, will be spent. He will have some of the most dedicated and talented people on this planet to work with, I just hope we are ready to work together. The effort of the M.O.U. Committee, on this contract, has been arduous and painstaking. Many, many hours of their time have been spent, away from their families, to bring this to fruition. Departments that function at the most cohesive levels, historically, receive the gratitude of city administrators. The Department selected and trained a group of peer mediators in the past, why aren’t they used, before charges are brought and reputations are ruined. What ever happened to the mediators? What weren’t they ever enacted? As Buz would say, “Can’t we All Just Get Along?” |
||||