Will running away from someone or blocking someone make you feel good? Well, I personally do not believe in blocking anyone because I feel blocking comes from lack. If you have a difference of opinion with someone, have a talk – not over the chat, over a call, or face to face. Before you listen to the other person, never conclude. Do not judge. Choose to be neutral.

But what is neutrality? Does that mean you cannot be sympathetic or empathetic? Well, no. Being neutral or maintaining neutrality means you are giving yourself an opportunity to view the situation from a different angle.

Now the next question that could come can be something like this. Okay, so I am neutrally seeing. Doesn’t that mean the other person is right? Again, how do we define right or wrong? Black or white? It is just the way you perceive. Ideally put, it is always the middle ground – it is always grey.

How does perceiving everything grey help?

Neutral views help you stay away from judgment. It ensures that you are seeing the situation with complete clarity. It is okay to be angry at the given moment, but if you are aware that there is an anger factor, then you will also have clarity about the moment.

But how? Consciously seeing an emotion at a given moment is the very first step to neutral perception. The next step is feeling it. Then, acknowledge it. Yes, I am angry. This becomes the third step.

After acknowledgment comes accepting the fact that you are experiencing something. And this is one place we all tend to reject. Most of us choose to ignore the emotion that we truly feel, leading to its suppression.

And that is when we try to push people away, ignore them, block them, or just disappear from their space without letting them know. It is always better to accept the emotion and share it with the person involved. The person would not have been even aware of what you were going through.

Let us say you are experiencing a sudden bout of sadness because someone said something unpleasant. Try doing this three times.

• I see the sadness.
• I feel the sadness.
• I acknowledge the sadness.
• I love and accept the sadness.
• I honor the sadness.
• I honor the brilliance behind the sadness.
• I am the sadness and the sadness is me.

Yet another way is to take 5 full deep breaths, in through your nose and out through your mouth – in for a count of 3 and out for a count of 4.

Do these techniques work? Yes, it does. This will also enhance your compassion quotient.

Try it! Feel it!

So next time, before you block someone or vanish from someone’s life, think. Call up the person and communicate. Texting might not be the right way here. Communicate over the call, or if possible, in person. Express yourself and listen to what the other person wants to tell… yes, with absolute neutrality. And, then see the difference in the relationship.

Neutral communication is constructive and effective, always!