Greetings, ladies and gentlemen of Ateraan. I am Agrias Saestas, Brother of the
Waylumi Clergy, and I thank you for your time and patience in allowing me to
present to you this sermon upon the subject of Attitude.
There are many factors in interpersonal relationships to consider, such as
rank, position, knowledge, but perhaps the most important of all is Attitude.
But what is Attitude, and how does it affect you?
Attitude is many things, with many components, not all of which we have time
for today, so I shall endeavour to put it to broad strokes. Attitude is a
compilation of a number of factors, with a number of hallmarks to keep in mind
as the most important. The first hallmark is Intention, the second hallmark is
Emotion, and the third hallmark is Presentation. It is with these three factors
in mind, most importantly, that you may begin to come to an understanding of
your own regarding Attitude.
The first Hallmark, Intention, is one that is easily identified, but perhaps
the most difficult to execute. I intend to give you all a memorable sermon. I
intend to serve the Lady's Tenets. I intend, I intend, I intend. This serves as
the base for my actions, and my Attitude, for it determines what I am setting
out to do. This is important, and must ever be kept in mind, for losing track
of your intentions is what results in a poor Attitude.
Let your Intention be ironclad, or stronger, and kept in mind when you set out
to interact with others. If you lose track of your Intention, you lose track of
how you should be interacting, and you begin to lose the thread of your own
self. It is without clear Intention that interpersonal relationships begin to
break down. Identify your goal, lay out your path to achieve it, and set upon
that path without deviation.
The second Hallmark, Emotion, is the most difficult to manage, at times,
especially when it interacts with Intention. Emotion is, of course, how you
feel, but how is this anything new? Self-awareness shows that Emotion interacts
all too blatantly, all too often, and all to unexpectedly, with Intention. Let
us say that I have an Intention in a conversation is to impart some knowledge,
a passage from a book, upon an Acolyte of the Faith, and they question my
knowledge. This is where Emotion interacts with Intention. I originally
Intended to impart knowledge, but their questioning of it has caused me to feel
the emotions of Anger and Incredulity. My Intention would then, no longer, be
to impart knowledge, but to win an argument. And in that, I have failed.
But how does one keep their emotions in check? Self-awareness, management,
meditation. Sometimes pulling oneself away from a situation, with a brief
explanation of what you originally Intended, and that the conversation has lost
its thread for you, while you go off and calm down, or cheer yourself back up,
or even find your neutral center once more. So long as you are aware of your
Emotions, you stand the chance of holding onto your Intention.
The final hallmark of all of this is Presentation. It is how you take your
Intention, and your Emotion, and show them to others, while simultaneously
being affected itself by them. For example, if I Intend to go to the High
Priestess, and ask her for coin for retraining from a fall, I would likely be
feeling anxious, and sorrowful. My body language, my expression, what I say,
these are all part of the Presentation. The Presentation is a combination of
three factors, in and of itself, your Emotion, Your Intention, and your own,
concious actions.
You can control your Presentation, which is, of course, how others perceive
you. Are you slouched, angry, and sullen? Are you stoic, quiet, and observant?
Whatever your Intention and Emotion, it is your Presentation that the public
will see, and judge you upon. Control your Intention, your Emotion, and your
Presentation, and your Attitude will be yours, and yours alone, and you will
have set upon the first step of becoming the True You.
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