"To speak and to speak well are two different things. A fool may talk, but a wise man speaks."
~Ben Jonson ~
We want to be polite, and do our best to do just that, but when others encroach aggressively on our personal space, politeness only seems to encourage their encroachment. And rudeness, in such a situation, easily escalates things to becoming potentially dangerous. So what's the answer?
Neutrality, it seems to me, mixed with calm, but firm assertiveness, has got to be the better way. We don't have to be doormats, and we don't have to be nasty. We can simply honor ourselves, and honor the other, by stating the straight facts.
I respond to others crossing my personal boundaries with clarity, assertion, and inner calm.
