Calm is an intention. Do we want to infect people with more anxiety, or heal ourselves and the people around us with calm? As the psychologist and writer Harriet Lerner says, “Anxiety is contagious. Intensity and reactivity only breed more of the same. Calm is also contagious. Nothing is more important than getting a grip on your own reactivity.” Do we match the pace of anxiety, or do we slow things down with breath and tone? Do we have all the information we need to make a decision or form a response? What do we need to ask or learn?
