Moonrise 13Moon Digital Magazine Volume 1, Number 13 - February 2016 | Page 22

Remember when your momma told you to never play with fire? I can hear
my own momma saying “You better watch out. You’re going to get hurt
and then you can’t say I told you so.” But, there’s always one of those
involved, did you listen?
I know I sure didn’t. Of course not. Especially as adults, we come equipped
with all the answers – right? So, if we listened to the words of wisdom
we were given when we were younger, there’s probably a lot of things
we would have missed out on! Where’s the fun in that? So, I did what any
nervy, know-it-all child would do – I reached out and touched the fire.
One would presume, that once burned = twice shy, but unfortunately, we
all know how the real world works. On the other side of the coin – and
here’s the not-so-funny part – it only takes one spark to wreak havoc and
destroy lives.
And that brings us to our topic – escaping the wildfire of manipulation,
which is defined as the ability of one individual to subtly apply influence
over the behavior and perceptions of others – especially for their own
advantage.
That’s basically what happens when a spark jumps containment. You
should be running for cover, but there’s something mesmerizing about
watching the fire dance ever so close that some folks end up losing their
lives because they wait too long to take action.
When you allow someone to manipulate you, what is actually happening
is that you have surrendered control of your physical and emotional
wellbeing. This stray spark has a mind of its own and will use all of your
available resources – including money, folks – that’s when it gets real, folks
– to sustain its own volatile nature.
Manipulators fight dirty. Their mentality is basically “take no prisoners”.
Passive aggressive, it’s easy for them to gain the upper hand because they
insert themselves into your lives as “help mates”. It’s gamesmanship
and truthfully, there are some out there who actually enjoy the game, no
matter how devastating the consequences.
There are those who find themselves especially vulnerable and easy prey
for manipulators because we put ourselves out there as “needy, needy,
victims”. Yes, you heard me.