A reply you can stand behind

Calm · Little Light original

There is a moment in a difficult conversation when you can feel yourself reaching for the sentence that will hurt most. You know exactly where it would land. You may even feel entitled to say it. And still, another choice is possible. You can name what happened without trying to make another person smaller. You can say, ‘That was not okay,’ and leave the cruelty out. You can step away when the conversation has stopped making room for either of you. None of this requires you to be untouched by anger. It asks you to stay close to the person you want to be while you are angry. That is difficult, deliberate work. When the moment has passed, there can be a quiet relief in knowing you defended yourself without saying something you now wish you could take back.

Little Light