Going Out Of Our Minds

A man is walking through the grocery store with a screaming, flailing toddler in his shopping cart. The child is inconsolable, and the man is quietly repeating phrases like, “Shh…Keep calm, Charlie. Don’t get excited, Charlie. Don’t make a fuss, Charlie. It’s going to be okay, Charlie.”

A lady in the produce aisle, who has been watching all along, says to the man, “You are to be commended for your patience with little Charlie!” The man answers, “Lady, I’m Charlie! His name is Tommy!”

That old joke isn’t really a joke. It reveals how we most often try to keep our wits about us when our surroundings are out of control. We talk to ourselves. We go inward. We try to “get our minds” right, hoping to find internal strength or peace. Yet, few of us have the adequate inner mettle we need, for we are dreadful conversational partners, and…