I have noticed both like Beth mentioned. Times of great change usually expose what we have hidden beneath. This does not mean that a person who chooses anger or irritability at this time is wholly angry. It simply means the current situation has served as a catalyst to bring forward something they can choose to process.

I like to think of it as a learning experience. Many do not know what it feels like to be in such a state of upheaval. For many of us here, upheaval is very familiar. Normal even. It is similar to the way people here are triggered by various words or phrases here, but it is happening on a grand scale.

When people have emotions and thoughts that are unfamiliar to them that are driven by fearful circumstances they can feel quite lost. Simply being with someone who is in a balanced state can offer them a tremendous service. I think of it like a bridge or a pathway back to something more familiar when they've lost their way. Compassion in the face of venom is a huge light in the dark.

I do not offer this to suggest anyone needs to put up with abuse. I do think though we can compassionately stand our ground and serve as a mirror to allow those spiraling out of control see themselves in our eyes. I know I've needed this type of service when I was sick. For example, my father was my first visitor when I was hospitalized. I could instantly tell he accepted me, but that my behavior was well past ok. I felt loved and he was an anchor back to what I hold dear at a time when I was utterly lost.

I feel that fighting against the venom will serve to extend it. I'm choosing to accept it, meet it where it is and be with it. Hopefully then my own grounded state will serve to transform it.