Being Creative vs. Reactive

As I was sipping an espresso and reading The Power of Kabbalah at a local outdoor café, I had a revelation. I was reading how the Kabbalah stresses the need to stop being reactive and start being proactive instead. Then it hit me like a bolt of lightning! The choice is between being reactive or creative. Suddenly, I saw how the words reactive and creative have all the same letters. The only difference is the location of the letter c within the two words. In creative the c is the first letter. In reactive it is hidden four letters inside the word. I then thought, “What could this symbolize?”

There seemed to be a spiritual truth being revealed. We could think of the letter c as standing for compassion and caring. When we are creative, we put our higher loving nature symbolized by the letter c first and foremost in our life. When we are reactive, we hide our higher loving nature and put our lower reactive reptile nature, symbolized by the letter r, first. Herein lies the clue as to how irritation can lead us to our liberation and ascension.

Our lower nature, the reptile, is reactive and responds to irritation by fight-or-flight. When we are reactive reptiles, we are up and down. Our emotional temperature depends on the emotional climate of those around us. The cold-blooded reptile is at the mercy of the environment. In contrast, our higher spiritual nature is like the eagle who transcends the environment. Truly, the difference between being creative or reactive is a matter of love.

At the heart of most sacred spiritual traditions is the concept of God or the Divine as the Creator. When we are being creative, we are being like God, the Divine. And when we are being reactive, we are hiding our higher loving and divine nature and placing the reactive reptile in us first. Our choice is to be a reactor or a creator. Take a deep breath and try repeating the affirmation: “I am not a reactive reptile! I am a caring and compassionate creator!”


• Today, keep reminding yourself that you are a creator, made in the image of God, and not a reactive reptile.