As a kid my mom always told me that I seemed to like doing or saying things just for their “shock value.” I didn’t really understand what that meant entirely, but I recall never being bugged by it. Now that I’m old enough to understand what she meant, I feel like I didn’t do it for shock purposes, but I did (do!) it order to garner the most extreme reaction from people: positive or negative (often somewhere in between).
I don’t want lukewarm reactions in life; from myself, my kids, from my future partner (!), friends, students, co-workers, family, strangers, etc. I want people to instinctively react based on their most immediate emotions without having to worry about how it will come across, or whether it will offend (it is nearly impossible to offend me). Okay, so know you’re probably thinking that this type of reaction lacks depth, but it’s quite the opposite. When somebody reacts right away, it’s honest, pure, raw emotions/feelings.
That doesn’t mean I don’t like tact, and that I don’t think tact is necessary – heck yes, use tact, people! But also use heart first, then maybe tact will naturally follow suit. I tend to think that we are composed of mostly good, and that only gets all tangled up when we think too much. Just feel.
Just show up. 