My Anywhere But Here Blog

Frustrations, Drama, and Protecting Our Peace

Today I had a conversation with someone about drama. She was in the wrong, but she insisted I was starting drama by bringing up the situation to others involved — in fact, to every imperative person in the situation.

I was not causing any drama. I was simply letting the girls involved know they were on notice that I did not care for how the situation unfolded that morning. I wanted to stop what had happened and help the person most affected, who was visibly and emotionally shaken.

While I choose not to rehash the situation here, it nonetheless got me thinking about frustrations and drama — and why we allow things to turn into drama, or even call it drama at all. Why do people feel the need to squelch wrongdoing and remove blame from themselves by saying you’re causing drama?

They try to turn the tables so the arrow is no longer pointing back at them, but instead at someone else — shifting blame as if drama were a personality trait rather than a response to behavior.

Protecting Peace in a Noisy World

How do we protect our peace in a very noisy world?

So often anymore, we seem more eager to make things into a theatrical experience, as if we are aiming for an award — an Emmy, a Tony, or even an Oscar. We disregard looking at things from another’s perspective. We want the spotlight shining in the center of the stage where we stand. We begin to see life as divided: the stage people and the audience.

When we do this, it creates an accusatory atmosphere. More often than not, someone becomes a King or Queen — indeed, drama royalty — accusing others of misunderstanding or misinterpreting the entire scene. And nothing truly gets resolved.

What we really want is to quiet the noise and stop the drama. So perhaps protecting our peace begins by recognizing the drama for what it is.

When Pride Turns the Tables

How can a King or Queen ever see that they might be the creator of the drama themselves?

How do we stop the turning of the tables?

How do we stop the shifting of blame?

Why does it become so easy to deflect responsibility?

Sometimes we turn the tables to protect our pride, disregarding our deepest need — peace. Perhaps if we appeal to the heart, believing there is one, and help others recognize that one of the key companions to truth is peace, something begins to soften.

It is like the old saying: the truth will always set one free.

We are not beholden to drama. The curtain can come down with minor consequences. The experience can still produce applause — just applause for honesty.

Still Waters, Not Loud Voices

Drama can overtake a situation, but He leads me beside still waters, not loud people.

As a Christian, I believe many would agree — even those who do not share the same faith — that what is sacred is peace. It should be our assignment to build upon it. When we take that responsibility seriously, we begin to see our life’s path differently. We are meant to walk beside still waters, not into environments filled with constant storms where everything shifts and tension takes hold.

We must learn how to quell the drama and shift the atmosphere toward peace.

A Gentle Truth Learned Along the Way

As I have walked this winding road of life, I have learned something gentle but true:

Blame may turn the tables, but it never settles the heart.

For a moment, it can feel powerful to redirect fault or rearrange the room so the spotlight does not fall on us. Yet peace does not live in rearranged rooms — it lives in honest reflections.

Grace begins where blame ends.

Healing begins where truth is welcomed.

And faith in the human spirit, quiet and steady, reminds us that we grow not by turning the tables, but by turning inward with humility and courage.

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Susan Beth Thomas