Responding instead of reacting

That's not my home!

  No, that's not my home! 

This early settler's home in Victoria, Australia
was perhaps lived in by a sheep farmer.
It has known better days. 

Conversing  Conversing- responding instead of reacting

Small talk and bigger talk; showing genuine interest in the other person; believing that the other person is significant;, giving eye contact; and being willing to listen – these are aspects that I continue to work on as I converse with others.  

Today there was a conflict, a relational problem, and there was I on the edge of the situation needing to apply some learned conversational skills. My reaction could have been anger, upset, exasperation, but I chose to pause and think, and respond with some careful words rather than react with an emotion. The careful words proved to have a quietening effect to the situation – words which focused on the “situation” rather than focusing on the people involved in the situation.  

May we learn to respond rather than react 
in some of those tricky situations

from Robyn

painting of robin by Brenda