Yes, I can see the feeding the wolves comment got to you.
I'd like to clarify a bit in saying that I don't just throw a "chop," let others pigeon-hole me in the general sense--meaning, for the most part I am able to speak my truth and happy to share a contradictory opinion, but when it comes to massive corporations/institutions/governing bodies that are set-up as people, but are in fact an entity, I believe it is different. Where it is difficult to locate a head, because all are there upholding a code of automated law (nice and hard-working people like your boss), that those are the times I find my energy may be wasted and that my functioning and giving to full capacity maybe hindered unless I know when my fight might be worth the effort.
Do I like all laws being enforced at the school? No, but I am in no way going to start yelling at the principal or even the district superintendent because I know that their hands are tied too and they only want the best for staff/students/education. They get their mandates from the state and they from the federal government who currently has 'elected,' a Woman for head of U.S. education and she has never been a teacher, or any experience educating in a classroom and her children did not attend public schools.
Should someone oppose the head, which in any case isn't even this individual woman because there are numbers of boards and voices in a democracy that winds up with hands tied with court cases and red tape anytime one attempts a change. I do think it is necessary for someone to fight for justice, but in that BIG sense, I am not the one. I have four children, am middle-aged and my effort in growing a better world is more enlarged outside the walls of an institution because my talents are not apart of their curriculum.
I think I could spend a lifetime going to battle with the institutions or I can spend my time helping and being helped by those people who I encounter in a flesh-body and living within my community.
Like I wrote in the previous comment, I thought that the sage you were referencing suggested knowing which battles to fight and which might be a waste of energy.
As this post was originally about depression/suicide, I'd like to say that those extremes rose when I was attempting to fight another's battle and fit into the correct criteria for the corporate model and this was not the one I had energy to fight because it was a war with my own nature.
Believe me, I have lot's of courage and endurance when I am standing behind something I do believe in, but I think society (and especially under current U.S. rule) is indoctrinating and employing "believer's," to force an agenda onto other's.
A difficult balance, for sure. On the one hand, there is evil in the world and a division in peoples (here in the U.S. pitted violently against one another and these not seeing they're behaving nearly the same in their vehemency to the other side who are simply people too). And, on the other, the positive and still seeing that there is beauty, light and goodness and a reason to be joyful in living. But, I think we must be careful about the incessant positivity, especially when we're (meaning societal) turning around and saying you have the power to change this kind of thinking because that message might be going into the ear of a person who is working hard, owns his house, is doing everything he knows how to be a good and productive contributor to his community, but is essentially isolated in getting this all done (work/car/wife/jogging/whatever) and he feels he is not himself, living his best life and isn't even sure how to articulate that any longer as the societal conditioning is so embedded that he now believes the messages to be his own voice. So, if he throws a "chop," tells wife and authorities he's suffering and needs to scale back on work hours, in our country that is considered by many to be weak and being weak is failing and this is a pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps country. In the past few years at school the buzz word has been grit. Teach the kids about real grit. It doesn't matter if they're the smartest one the one who now wins in our educational system is the one who won't let go of the idea of the American dream (which is very independent/isolating) in nature.
:) Now, I'm going on and on!
Nice to have these discussions with you, Erika.