Standing back

There are many times in a lifetime when you have to stand back and let things go on without your influence.. It is hard to do but I feel it is sometimes essential to stand back and not interfere or say things you might regret later. A couple of weeks ago I was standing in the bus shelter with various other people. A man came along and joined us then started to say how wonderful our prime minister was and how those on benefits or homeless should get a job and stop being idle. My first reaction was to move forward ready to defend those less well-off than myself but something stopped me. There was no response from those standing in the bus shelter either.

So where is this leading me? I could have put my point of view to this man but I could see that he would not listen anyway. There are many like him who are cosy in their own world and do not see what is happening in the world around them. It is easy to become homeless through no fault of your own. You may be made redundant and be unable to pay your rent or mortgage and then end up living on the street. It almost happened to me some years ago when I was told to leave my rented house as the owner wanted it back. This came after repeated complaints from me about a leaking roof so now I am careful about the number of complaints I make about my rented accommodation.

So if I had got in an argument with this man it would not have helped. I hope that we can all read between the lines, as it were, and see the truth about what is going on around us. We should be able to discern what is true and what is fake or just pure lies. Staying true to your own beliefs is important but I hope those beliefs include compassion for those who are vulnerable and need help as well. Standing back is not always the right thing to do but it can help you to see the bigger picture and help you to realise when to stand back or when to say something or interfere. If people had not interfered this last Friday then more people might have been injured or died when a man attacked others with a knife in London. Sometimes it is easy to know what to do especially in an emergency.

I know when to say things to others to try to open their eyes to what is going on around them but I can also see when they are brainwashed into their thinking and unlikely to change or even listen to what I have to say. Sometimes it is better to do nothing and stand back but on the other hand it is sometimes easy to know when to do something. Being a peace loving druid with compassion for others can bring its own challenges!