Caring for our attitude

IT’S unfortunate that the word “attitude” has fallen into
disrepute. Nowadays when you hear that someone has an attitude, it
means he has a bad temper, or has an evil way of looking at things,
etc. It has become a catch-all for everything that can be negative in
a person.

            I am sure it’s one of those sweeping, thoughtless
generalizations that sometimes happen when we seem dominated by a
certain kind of event. It’s a case of branding and stereotyping,
similar to the Colgate of old to refer to toothpaste in general, etc.

            But attitude is something we cannot avoid. It’s part of
our system, of our being persons who think and choose, who certainly
have a sense of how things are and ought to be. It can refer to our
dispositions toward everything in life. It’s the more permanent fruit
of how we correspond to our consciences.

            In fact, we need to see to it that our attitudes are taken
care of. They should be properly cultivated, equipped and oriented.
They should not be just left alone to develop by themselves, driven
mainly by shallow considerations—emotions and passions, fads and
fashions, all sorts of social conditionings, etc.

            In these times with so many challenges, difficulties and
other tricky elements, we have to see to it that our attitudes are
well established. They are precisely those very intimate, internal
principles, the basic expression and language of our heart that need
to be guided and protected.

            It’s our attitude that determines how we behave before
different situations, issues, challenges, etc. It tells us when to be
calm or agitated, patient or impatient, gentle or assertive, etc.

            For Christian believers, the standard, of course, is Jesus
Christ, who said he is “the way, the truth and the life” for us. He is
in fact who and what we ought to be, the very pattern of our humanity,
our source and end, our redeemer.

            Let’s hope that we can be more aware of this need, and
skilled to handle our obligation toward it. We cannot deny the patent
fact that many suffer from serious attitudinal problems, all crying
for help. Objectively, that is, and not quite subjectively, since many
may not realize they have such problems.

            There’s a lot of apathy and indifference towards others.
If not that, then there’s a lot of rash judgments and invasive
critical thoughts towards them. Many just coast along in life,
drifting without a clear sense of purpose. All of these indicate
neglect and malformation in the care of our attitudes.

            With the rise of technological progress, for example, we
can see that while there is marked improvement in the quality of life
for some, there’s also the downside that many misuse or abuse this
development

            The phenomenon of the social media, like the Facebook and
the Twitter, is a case in point. While these electronic facilities
expedite our communications, the problem now is what to communicate.
Many people do not realize that the rise of technology is also calling
for a rise in our sense of purpose.

            Obviously, if we just keep ourselves at the level of
greeting and communicating trivia, it will not be long before we
deteriorate into gossiping and quarrelling over petty things.

            Or we lapse into being just a passive observer, mainly
wasting time. And what time we can waste just reading the postings
there! Or we simply stop using them, which is quite a waste of
resources given the many golden opportunities these technological
advances can give us.

            We need to have a clearer and higher sense of purpose to
match the quantum leap of advantages these electronic devices provide
us. Otherwise, we end up spoiled by them, confused and swallowed by
their intoxicating properties, and later, enslaved by them. I don’t
think this is just theory. It’s a very likely possibility.

            We need to develop programs to address this urgent and
widespread need. Technology has not only accelerated our pace of life.
It also has increased our challenges, this time, more subtle and yet
no less important and crucial. We have to help one another in
discerning things and equipping ourselves with the proper attitudes.

            This task can actually be pioneered by anyone. But most
likely the best setting would be the families and the schools that are
continually monitoring the developments around.

            Parents and teachers should get together to plot out
relevant strategies, always getting guidance from the Church and other
moral authorities and experts. But the main focus should be the
instilling of the proper attitudes in everyone.