Just occurred to me this morning when I caught a glimpse on FB of an ASPCA posting; a frightened, trembling old dog; alone; eyes looking directly into mine.
First reaction; tears. Then trembling; incredible heart-pounding rage. Explosive. Immediate burning pain in right hip; groin; back of my head; upper right jaw. Had to lie flat; stretch out; breathe slowly.
I knew of course what was going on. My usual physical response to a straight to the gut, emotionally-loaded circumstance; no outlet; helpless to rescue the dog; physically beat bloody; kill the person who left him there.
Also as usual, as I stretched, I closed my eyes, saw the dog; held him, told him he was safe now; I'd take care of him; and then had to stand and physically release rage; punched alternately right palm, left palm with a fist; swear; destroy the SOB who frightened that dog.
Nothing new in any of this; invariably the same ritual to deal with a serious emotional response to a similar scene; a helpless dog; a baby animal; a helpless child; being brutalized.
As I gradually relaxed; finally able to stand, leave for my morning walk, a thought occurred to me; and I laughed.
My explosive response would be exactly the same for each of my five children; no question. Hard-liners when children, animals, the environment are under attack. Stand up for the little against the big. Know the difference between good and bad. Right is right and wrong is wrong. No waffling; straddling the gap. Can't have it both ways.
My kind of people.
Judgmental?
You bet.
But in a good way.
Obviously—if you haven't noticed—I'm biased; they're a terrific group and any one of them would have the exact same response that I did to that ASPCA FB posting. Guaranteed.
What keeps my emotions jumping, of course, is that not everyone is a subscriber to the belief that there is an objective reality. That there is a right and a wrong; a good and a bad; a fair and an unfair.
All I can say is; I know; I know.
But, if only…