I was caught off guard by the response. Paraphrasing the conversation to protect the those who others might recognize, the WhatsApp conversation went like this.
“Hi, I hope this finds you having a great weekend. A couple friend called. It seems that the project we worked on in the past is no longer working. I checked on it myself. I have duplicated their report. The project is not currently working.”
“Thanks for the alert. I verified your message; the project is not working. I will alert the support team when I am back in the office on Monday (in two days). Have a good weekend.”
I had been hoping for immediate action. I was expecting more emotion than I read between the lines. In my imagination, being responsive included emotions (surprise), wonder (why and how?), and action (let’s get this fixed, now!). I was looking for someone who cared enough to passionately react. I was hoping that there would be a push for a root cause analysis of the problem and a promise to fix things as quickly as possible. As it is I wonder; what will happen and when.
As I think of how I have responded in similar situations, I can understand that this alert may not have been the most important priority in the moment. Even if I had told others that this was my highest priority, the fact that I was not acting on the matter told my heart and mind something quite different. I “knew” with certainty that I did not think it was important! My insight was driven by the proof point of action. I could talk endlessly, but the evidence said that it was not.
The encouragement from the psalmist is direct. When something happens for the good, “thank God for his marvelous love, for his miracle mercy to the children he loves.” (Psalm 107.21) With good events, go directly to your heart and remind yourself how you feel. Be authentic from the center, inside and away. In starting within, one establishes the foundation on which to respond outwards.
