Conned

It is hard to live with the impact of being conned. It is miserable knowing that the words just uttered have no link with reality. It is usually frustrating to know that someone has, at least in the short-term, pulled off the initial phases of a deception. The only person who could and would attempt the con would be a fool, but that doesn’t change the impact of the moves. In fact, “carrying a log across your shoulders while you’re hefting a boulder with your arms is nothing compared to the burden of putting up with a fool,” (Proverbs 27.3) especially when combined with a mirage of hope and promises.

In my journey it seems like fools come into my life in waves. The tide of life is out and things begin working smoothly in harmony. People striving together, equally pulling their load perfectly on the stroke, and the result is absolutely magical. The tide shifts and it is as if we are in fool hunting season. Everyone one turns the idiots are in charge! I am brilliant of course, so the contrast is all the more infuriating! Anger flashes to an explosion in an instant while frustration triggers multiple volleys of arrows aimed at hurting the people driving the situation. Just when one is sure that the lowest of the low points has been reached, it gets even worse.

I am convinced that these situations are never unique and will always exist. It does not seem to matter if you are in New York, London, Prague, Bangalore, or Tokyo, they continue to surface at the most inopportune times! The question is not if others are going to try and con you but when and where. Oh, the most important question is often left unasked. What is one going to do in response?

I wish I could give you a proven track record of ideal responses. In my life they continue to be a wish more than a reality. I am convinced that compassion, mercy and love bundled with compassion are always preferable to the alternative.