Susan Campbell reminds us that “Our unprocessed emotional wounds and the reactions that arise from them are what makes us go to war, blow up at our children, get hostile on the freeways, hit “send” on that email rant, walk out of meetings, argue with loved ones, and make shortsighted decisions.” None of us can avoid getting emotionally reactive or defensive or overwhelmed when it comes to relating with others. The hurts and disappointments that we suffered in childhood often leave lasting scars with respect to our inner sense of safety and security. They show up later in our adult relationships in the form of trigger reactions. However, these insecurities are not necessarily a bad thing. Campbell describes the ultimate goal of inner work as making effective decisions that come from the higher brain versus the knee jerk tendencies of our primitive, lizard brain. She encourages and teaches that a better plan is see how reactive incidents can help us understand the deeper layers of our own conditioned mind.
