Your Friday Trigger Question
Its cold and miserable in many places where the Friday Trigger Question pops up in inboxes. When it’s cold and miserable, I think “porcupines.” No, not because I am from Africa. Because of German philosopher Schopenhauer.
He once asked his readers to imagine porcupines huddling together for warmth. As they move closer, their quills force them apart. But then the cold drives them closer. And then their quills force them apart. Back and forth.
Have you watched kittens or puppies cuddling together to keep warm? Now imagine a group of porcupines (a prickle of porcupines?) trying the same cuddle. Makes you think, doesn’t it?
As Schopenhauer explained, they are at the mercy of their discomforts until they find that space that maximizes warmth and minimizes pain. (Read that again. At the mercy of their discomforts; maximizing warmth; minimizing pain.)
Here’s the cold kicker. It’s possible that the person you think is causing you pain is only trying to keep you warm. (Surprise, surprise, that person might be a co-worker.)
And here’s the sermon part. Don’t keep relationships at the mercy of quills. You don’t have any.
Your Friday Trigger Question:
- Who had you covered, but got your back up?