We need to talk.

First, what do I mean when I say "reactor" in this sense? For this conversation, a reactor is a person who never responds, but only reacts; thought may be given briefly before the reaction but it is full of emotion and is not easily stopped. The reactor holds onto their bottom line point and will not be swayed regardless of the content of any conversation. They speak from a place of hurt and invisibility. Sound familiar?

I know you. I was you - still am you. You care. You recently acquired new truths and may be angry. You may be wounded, and those wounds are clouding your ability to access YOUR ABILITY to respond. You fly off the handle. You aggressively patrol your social media feeds looking for the offenders to your peace (or anyone else's peace that you care about). You may feel guilty that you don't really give back or do anything of service so you become a keyboard warrior - fighting the "good fight" only through your fingers. You have something to say about every injustice BUT ONLY from your point of view or your own personal experience. You may ask of others' opinions but you really don't care. Does any of this resonate with you? It's ok if it does and I give you a super cyber hug for this moment of awareness.

Becoming a RESPONDER takes time and it begins with you.

We will be talking a lot more about this in the coming month.

For now, just ask yourself this question or notice this for yourself - are you a "reactor" or a RESPONDER? When confronted, what is your default? What does your body do in that moment? Does it feel tense? Do you breathe shallowly? Does your mind agree with your body in that moment?