Try Lowering the Volume
Gary McIntyre had just started his workday in the
Canadian woods last Monday. He heard a noise, turned to look
in that direction, and realized he was being charged by an
angry bear! Experienced forestry worker that he is, he knew
there was no time for a proper introduction. So he scurried
up the nearest tree.
The bear didn't give up. She started climbing the tree
behind him! "Her teeth were right under my boots," said
McIntyre in a television interview. He didn't have the bear
repellent he normally carries with him in the forests of New
Brunswick. And he wasn't carrying his two-way radio either.
So McIntyre began screaming at the bear in hopes of scaring
her away. But she just kept climbing.
The bear got so close, in fact, that the man who has had
encounters with bears before had to risk jumping from one
tree into another to avoid being mauled by the powerful
creature that was closing in on him!
"She tried to grab me for a while and after I stopped
screaming, the bear calmed down," he told the TV camera.
"The more I screamed, the madder the bear got." The reason
for the bear's rage didn't become apparent until much later,
when the trapped man saw her cub crawling down from the top
of a 50-foot tree not far from where he had encountered its
mother.
The cub swung to the ground, nudged its mother, and the two
of them ambled off. McIntyre waited a few minutes, came down
from his place of refuge, and looked one last time at the
deep gouges the bear had inflicted on the tree she had
clawed in frustration. Grateful those marks were not on his
body, the forestry worker went home – after a harrowing
eight-hour day.
McIntyre's comment about his screaming only making the bear
madder and more determined to get him reminds me of human
behavior. Although some people appear to think that loud,
blustery threats are the means to power and influence, they
more often generate anger and opposition. Whether in the
workplace or at home, screeching at someone who has messed
up humiliates and makes enemies. And if you happen to be on
the receiving end, an in-kind reply seldom serves a good
purpose and only escalates the tension and hostility.
"A kind answer soothes angry feelings," the Bible says, "but
harsh words stir them up" (Proverbs 15:1 CEV).
Try to remember that the next time you find yourself out on
a limb.
Rubel Shelly FAX of Life GBCIII@aol.com