Letting Barking Dogs Bark

Often in life, it is easier to retrieve from the battle-front than to stand in the thick of fight and be overpowered. It is psychologically simpler to run away when the battle grows thick, and there are still chances of saving one's life, even if that means acknowledging one's cowardice and shame, than to face the deadly weapons scathing through one's body, while the soul remains unmoved. We are of course, not talking about battlefronts or brave warriors or consequences of losing one's battle. This is merely an allusion, which we all go through each day, and have a lot to teach us.

My friend is convinced that there is no point in fighting with other companions who were after her to put down, and show their superiority complex in all respects. So, when the others try to shout at her, she makes it a point to keep quiet and mind her own work. This has not stopped the problem, but had only aggravated it. If there are people who grumble that she was spending too much time in the computer room with internet, she would decide not to step into that room, lest they get another chance to talk about her. But the problem has not stopped there either.

In a battle front, one cannot be careless; every move should be calculated; but if one is too preoccupied by the moves and refuses to swing the sword to prevent the enemy coming past one, there may be nothing left to calculate. The iron has to be hit when it is still redhot, or else it is difficult to shape it. Avoidance may be one way of handling problems related to persons who are or think they are superior to others, but sure that does not solve the problems. Confrontation (care-frontation) is another way of doing it, though this may not work with people who do not bother to take one seriously.

We can learn a good lesson from stray dogs. These street dogs have a way of finding out who is brave and who is coward. There are persons who as soon as they hear a dog bark, start running away, and the dogs know that they are frightened and so have fun in chasing them. If someone were to stand and stare at the barking dogs, they would invariably soften their barking, and after a while even stop trying to frighten them. This is a reality, and if we try to run away from problems, the problems may start chasing us, until we are fully down; if we stand erect and face them, then we may realize there was no problem at all!

There is also another way of handling these people who are after our blood. To let them bark as much as they want. They cannot bark endlessly; when they find that no one is taking them seriously, they may grow tired and ultimately stop barking. Let people say whatever they want; I will continue to do what I am convinced is the right thing to do. I should be prepared to be challenged, and even face the brickbats; ultimately what matters is if I am ready to stand by what I am convinced of, even if that means giving ears to endless barking. But the barking will one day stop, and I then can breathe easy!