Responding Rather Than Reacting
Irini Rockwell 
Learn how pausing before reacting can transform conflict into compassionate response through awareness, maitri, and the wisdom of the Five Wisdoms.
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Responding Rather Than Reacting by Irini Rockwell
Whoever we are and whatever we do in our life, we all have those moments when we are seemingly attacked–by someone or some situation–and then react in a habitual knee-jerk way. We get caught, hooked into feeling bad.
We may carry those reactions around for days, months, or even years. Sometimes they stay with us for a lifetime.
What has happened is that someone has pushed one of our buttons—touched one of our wounds. Our wounds are real. The deeper they are, the more reactive we tend to become.
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The turning point comes when we recognize that we are continuing the cycle ourselves.
We do have a choice.
We can catch ourselves in those moments and pause instead of reacting automatically. When we become less reactive, we begin to see what is really happening. Awareness is the first step toward transforming our experience. From there, we can respond with greater clarity and compassion.
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This takes practice.
Try it once, and you'll discover its self-generating power. With each success, you'll gain the confidence to do it again and again.
The important thing is not to be pulled into reactivity, but to respond from the heart.
Cultivating unconditional loving-kindness (maitri) toward ourselves and others is the key, as I have mentioned in previous posts.
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If this resonated with you, I invite you to explore more about the Five Wisdoms—a psycho-spiritual understanding of human dynamics, personality, emotions, and relationships.
Visit: FiveWisdomsInstitute.com
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Categories: : Loving Kindness