Emotions - yes. Emotional drama - no!

The husband and wife gifted themselves a new car for their first wedding anniversary. They drove downtown, zipped through the beach road, watched a movie in a drive-in theatre, and finally returned home. As they didn't have a garage, they parked the car on the street. When they woke up the next morning, they found to their utter shock that the car was missing. It had been stolen. Their first car, their first wedding anniversary gift, and they had barely enjoyed the car for a day. The wife couldn't take it. Misty-eyed, she sank into the sofa. The husband too was jolted, but his love for his wife prevailed over the moment. He hugged her from behind and said, "The car is lost. You can feel upset about it. The car is lost. You can take it easy. Either way, the car is lost. Then, why not take it easy?" She glared at him and the moment passed. Two months later, the police recovered the car from a car robbing gang, and the car was returned to the husband. That very evening, while driving back home from the police station, the husband rammed the car against a truck. This time it was his turn. He couldn't take it. On returning home, misty-eyed, he sank into the sofa. The wife too was jolted. But, her love for him prevailed over the moment. This time, she hugged him from behind, and said, "The car is rammed. You can feel upset about it. The car is rammed. You can take it easy. Either way, the car is rammed. Then, why not take it easy." 

A logical question: When the car is lost or rammed, how can anyone take it easy? But what else can you do? Feel upset, if you want; take it easy, if you want -either way, after the emotional drama, what has to be done has to be done. The police complaint has to be lodged, the car has to be sent to the workshop, the insurance has to be claimed... what has to be done has to be done. 
The child has failed in one of the subjects. The father slaps the child a few times. The mother hits herself on her forehead several times and cries. After all the emotional drama, what? Now, you will have to take greater care while coaching your child in that subject he might perhaps require special tuition - what has to be done has to be done. You left the milk a little longer than required on the gas stove. The boiled milk is beginning to overflow from all sides of the vessel, Scream, wail, shout, get tense, and let your BP shoot up... after all the emotional drama, now what? You will switch the stove off, remove the vessel and clean the kitchen counter. Eventually, what has to be done 
will be done. 

From a stock market crash to a key employee's resignation to the death of a loved one... after the emotional drama, eventually what has to be done will be done. Here we are not discussing about not being emotional, but about avoiding dramatic emotional reactions. Understandably, you will skip a heartbeat when you lose your vehicle, you will sink into helplessness when the child fails, legitimate tears will roll down at the loss of a beloved. Emotions - yes. Emotional drama - no! 
Emotional Maturity is not about avoiding emotions, but it is about avoiding the emotional drama. Anyways, what has to be done has to be done. Then, why the drama? 

Let the good make noise.

An aspiring youth joined a daily as an apprentice. After three days of rigorous training and induction, he was asked to go to the field and come back with a story worth publishing. After toiling through the streets and braving the heat for close to six hours, he was returning to office with a sense of failure as he hadn’t collected a worthwhile story. He came to a junction where three roads met in a Y’ formation. He noticed two buses speeding towards the junction from the two opposite roads, oblivious of what they were heading for. An accident seemed almost inevitable. The young reporter used his presence of mind, ran to the meeting point of the two roads, vigorously waved both his hands, screamed at the top of his voice and eventually succeeded in stopping both the buses. Hundreds of passengers from both the buses took the youth’s hand into theirs and thanked him… some even kissed him. However, on hearing this heroic story from the young reporter, the editor of the newspaper sacked him saying, “You missed a golden opportunity of a dramatic story worthy of headlines.”

We do not live in a bad world. Its just that the bad makes news. In a world where the bad makes so much noise, we need more and more avenues through which the good too will begin to make noise. We cannot remain taciturn anymore. Smoking, drinking, chewing and many other harmful habits are advertised enough; but what is available to brainwash the world on all the good activities?

Tax evaders make headlines… instead, why not a story on the front page about the taxpayers? The photos of murderers are flashed… instead, why not that of lifesavers? Why not a story about a soldier every day?

Go out into the world and speak all the good you know of all the people. Tell your friends about the virtues of your parents. Let everyone in your club know how proud you are of your children. Stick a bulletin about all the qualities you admire in your teachers. Gossip more and more about all the extraordinary things ordinary people around you are doing every day of their lives. Write to your in-laws about how blessed you are to have their child as your spouse. Shout, scream, write, speak, blow the trumpet, make noise… make noise… about all the good that you can see. Let us together impress the world and impress upon the world that our world is actually a good world…