Reason is like a lantern that prefers low flame to forest’s wildfire, your clarity to conquest, and your remedies to verdicts,
Reason is like a lantern that asks, “May I share a concern?” and then waits for yes or a kind understanding,
And reason is like a lantern steady in your grasp when noise jostles elbows, trays your tempers, and your expectations,
But the reason is like a lantern for waking sleepers kindly, not scorching them awake with a moral sunlight…
Private rage stages elaborate scenes that end in nothing but a pounding pulse and a tightened jaw,
Private rage stages punishments that never land, while the fix—and sincere words—costs ten quiet pure seconds,
And private rage stages the illusion of superiority, yet refuses the small bravery of direct kindness,
But private rage stages the longest route to peace, circling resentment like an airport without open gates where planes of silence can stay…
Polite correction begins where respect is felt first, so compliance is possible without humiliation or loss,
Polite correction begins by naming the impact, not the character: “The loud talk is hard on my focus”,
And polite correction begins with options—“Could we lower our voices, or might I swap this seat?” -for a warm thank you,
But polite correction begins a habit: prefer useful words to silent fireworks that scorch only the carrier chooses…
Choose small courage that weighs tone like medicine, precise in dose, healing in effect, gentle in aftertaste,
Choose small courage to test your story; most “villains” are simply unaware or able to adjust,
Choose small courage because you want a better world more than you want the righteousness of fury,
Choose small courage today, so tomorrow your reflex is remedy, not resentment rehearsed in grayscale…
Be the example you seek, proving that civility is contagious when modeled in the wild,
Be the example you seek, letting calm authority ripple outward like rings from a stone in water,
Be the example you seek, and keep the room hospitable—just firm, just fair, and breathable for everyone present,
Be the example you seek, so your presence smells of reason: known before spoken, trusted after spoken words…
• Raise reason like a lantern
• Retire the theater of rage
• Begin with breath and a clear request
• Prefer remedy to righteousness
• Model the civility you want to meet
