In the trenches of our community resource center, an odd truth has become glaringly evident: some people seem to operate as if life is a soap opera, and they are both the star and the scriptwriter. You know the type, the ones who can’t sit through a moment of calm without drumming up some catastrophe. If life doesn’t provide them with enough drama, they’ll manufacture it.
Maybe they have a heightened survival instinct, and tranquility feels like death creeping up on them. Or perhaps they’re adrenaline junkies who get their fix not from skydiving but from relationship blowups, petty feuds, and arguments with customer service representatives.
Whatever the cause, the effect is the same: they are exhausting. Not just on a personal level, but on a communal one. When everything is a five-alarm fire, they drain social services, monopolize the attention of helpers, and burn out the people who genuinely want to assist those in need. It’s a bit like watching someone set their own house on fire just so they can enjoy the drama of calling the fire department.
This raises an interesting question: in the grand machinery of society, are we always destined to have givers and takers? The givers are the ones tirelessly pouring out their time, money, and emotional bandwidth, while the takers always seem to have an open hand and an empty gas tank. Is this a cosmic balance, a necessary equation? Maybe so. If everyone were a giver, who would be left to receive? Then again, if the takers weren’t so committed to living life like a never-ending emergency, maybe the givers wouldn’t have to be on duty 24/7.
Of course, there’s no easy fix. Some people will always prefer a life of chaos, and others will always be running around trying to fix it. But perhaps if we taught a little more self-awareness, a little more problem-solving, and, dare I say it, a little more emotional restraint, we might shift the balance ever so slightly. Not enough to eliminate the takers entirely (after all, they do keep things interesting), but enough to give the givers a well-earned break.
And wouldn’t that be nice?
Join us in making the world a better place – you’ll be glad that you did. Cheers friends.