How to Mindfully Respond to Hate
- Raileigh Easterling
- Jun 9
- 3 min read
I am not trying to keep the peace at the cost of my life.
What I think or say and feel about this world is often met with judgment, fear, and hostility by the people who are supposed to love me, and so they might wonder, as I become more of a conscious adult, why I separate and distance myself from everyone. I love my roots, but finding space in my life to take a step back and, for the first time, offer myself compassion gives me a chance to forgive people who have harmed me in their unconsciousness, genuinely. If I am to free myself of the rage and pain I harbor every single day, then the space is necessary. I do not pray that I am the one to change how the people I love think about the world or think about themselves. I am only here on display to show what it means to embody more peace and love daily, despite everything else that might be happening.
As I become more and more of an authentic presence, more expressive of myself in general among people, and as I keep sharing with the world that I am a business leader, I am still faced every single day with people's unfiltered opinions and toxic mental and emotional abuse. I am not a perfect being, and so when I get a negative email or a derogatory comment on a video, rage does come up in my body and in my thoughts. Slowly over time, through my own mindfulness and healing journey, I am learning how to mindfully respond to hate. The amount of time I spend in the energy with those thoughts and feelings in my body has decreased. Lately, I've noticed it may only last a few minutes or a couple of seconds. I wonder sometimes if it will ever be possible to not react in my awareness to people, but this is just a simple part of being human. Humans are not robots, we are not artificial. It is among popular conversations to talk about people who avoid, numb, and distract themselves from their true feelings and emotions, who are the narcissists and psychopaths of society. I know that I will never not be a highly sensitive person, as much as I hate this about myself sometimes, this does not mean I can or should allow people to exploit that part of me.
Being an author, public speaker, and business owner means I will never be truly hidden from harsh criticism by others. In fact, my soul welcomes it every day because I love the journey of self-growth that much. People are entitled and allowed to have their opinions. Others can choose to never take accountability for their mental health and their physical well-being. They never have to accept who I am or their potential. I will keep creating knowledge, wisdom, and poetry as I choose to heal and process all of it. I do not write to judge anyone or criticize anyone else, for that matter. I'm not here to project shame. What I am doing is refusing to harbor negativity and self-destruct, as many of us empaths, especially, do to keep the peace. I am not trying to keep the peace at the cost of my life. I am here to create, participate, and remember the peace that lives within myself and among other people. Along with this comes some very clear and honest transparency of some very real human thoughts and behavior.
So my question to you reading this: how are you alchemizing your pain into healing for yourself and others, and are you willing to own this journey, this process? If you especially know that this journey for you is the medicine of your heart, mind, body, and soul, then why would you spend even one day rejecting it or being afraid of it? You get to choose how much you can take, how much is administered, and others can choose when they know it is right for them, to join you in that ceremony.
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Raileigh Easterling is the Founder of Conscious Lifestyle Coaching LLC. She is a motivational author, poet, & public speaker; a transformational retreat host & mindfulness teacher; and a business & public relations consultant.
Conscious Lifestyle Coaching LLC is a sacred space for entrepreneurs, changemakers, and visionaries on the path of self-development, healing, and spirituality to experience transformation and holistic growth.
You can learn more about her and her services, including her 1-on-1 coaching sessions, books, and free resources at consciouslifestylecoaching.com.
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