Receptive

I recently heard someone say,

“You can’t be angry and receptive at the same time.”

I don’t know if this is absolutely true. Sometimes, an epiphany hits us when we’re not expecting it at all. Or sometimes, we receive aspects of what we need from our anger — self love, protection, and insight from that very anger, just to name a few examples.

But I imagine that this is often true. When our anger persists beyond what we need, or when it morphs into bitterness, we do become more closed off. We are less receptive. We are less open.

There’s an invitation within that statement:
“You can’t be angry and receptive at the same time.”

We can work on our anger. And we can be grateful that insight still manages to break through.

—Renee Roederer