Part 1 of “The Weapon Was Never the Problem” Series
💥 What happens when we’re handed power before we’ve mastered presence?
We always think the weapon is the danger. The gun. The sword. The sharp words. The access. The position. The money. But what if it’s not the object that holds the threat— What if it’s us?
I didn’t grow up in a culture where guns were normal. They weren’t in conversations, households, or everyday reality. To me, they belonged in war zones or films—not real life. So, I never truly considered what makes them so dangerous. Until one day… I was handed a fake one.
🎯 The Team Outing That Taught Me Everything
It was a company team-building day. Fun, silly, harmless. Or so I thought. We were split into two teams and dropped into a simulated “combat” game. Think: war zone vibes, fake guns, headbands, and a lot of competitive spirit. I was handed a mock weapon and told: “Shoot the other team.”
Seems simple, right?
Except within five minutes, I was firing at everything that moved—including my own teammates 💀 It was chaos. I wasn’t calm. I wasn’t thinking. I was reacting.
I was the danger.
💣 The Weapon Was Fake — But the Lesson Was Real
I laughed at the time, but later, the realization hit me like a quiet bomb:
It wasn’t the gun. It was me, the one holding it. Because I didn’t know how to use it with calm or reason. And that’s when I understood something terrifying and true:
A weapon in the hands of someone who hasn’t mastered themselves becomes a risk to everyone around them.
🧠 What Else Do We “Hold” Without Awareness?
It’s not just guns. We Walk through life holding tools of power every day.
- Our voice
- Our titles
- Our emotions
- Our influence
- Our money
- Our platforms
And when we’re angry, afraid, insecure, or unhealed… we use those tools unconsciously.
We say things we can’t take back.
We try to dominate instead of listen.
We hoard instead of trust.
We attack instead of feel.
We shoot before we breathe.
🪞 The gun became a mirror
It showed me something I needed to see: That true power begins not with what you hold, but with how well you hold yourself.
And until you learn that… You’ll be a risk to others, even when you’re trying to do the right thing.
✍🏽 Reflect With Me:
Take a deep breath and ask yourself:
- When was the last time I reacted instead of responding?
- What “weapons” (tools, words, access, authority) do I hold that I might not be fully conscious of?
- How can I become safer to myself and others?
💫 Closing Note:
Mastery doesn’t mean silence. It doesn’t mean weakness. It means knowing that just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. It means becoming someone who can be trusted with power—because you’ve done the work to wield it with wisdom.
And that, bestie, is where real strength begins.
Salima
Just me thinking out loud over here