Confession: I made this episode as a pep talk for future Courtney. In the not so distant future, my Read Around the World quest will reach the I’s, and the I’s include Israel, and folks on social media have some strong opinions about Israel. People have already suggested I should skip Israel. I won’t be skipping Israel because (1) I’m Jewish and (2) that really defeats the purpose of the project. I’m trying to expose myself to new voices, not limit those voices based on political beliefs; and if I start eliminating countries based on political beliefs, what will be left? Maybe Luxembourg? 

Long story short: when I reach Israel, I’m bracing myself for a deluge of hateful comments.

So for this week’s episode, I gave myself a pep talk about how to handle the hate that shows up in the comments section of my social media posts. I reflect on what I’ve learned so far, so that when the hate shows up in my posts, I can be resilient and not get scared away by some nasty trolls. 

Books/teachers I mentioned during this episode:

(1) Don Miguel Ruiz and The Four Agreements, one of my favorite books.

(2) Byron Kate and The Work – I’d suggest reading one of her books first, and then trying The Work for yourself. It’s been incredibly healing and productive for me.