Have you ever been standing in a room and noticed when someone new entered that the dynamic of the room changed? I have see this a lot. Sometimes the atmosphere in the room gets more energized while at other times the air in room seems to have just been let out. Do you know what happens to a room when you enter? Do you add or take away from the energy that is present?

Working in Catholic youth ministry it is vital that we are people that add energy to a room. Teens are looking for hope and they respond to people who bring energy to life. This is not to say we are all cheerleaders or motivational speakers, energy is added by people who don’t even need to speak to be a positive influence in the room. Our posture, body language and our facial expressions impact the room.

“At a level deeper than words, deeper than exchanging information, every interaction with another person is a spiritual exchange. Some people are life-bringers to us. They increase our energy, deepen our hope, add to our joy, and call out the best in us. Other people are life drainers. They add to our anxiety and invite us to cynicism. We find ourselves becoming defensive, depressed, or exasperated.”
- John Ortberg from the book “The Me I Want to Be”

What’s something you can do to make sure you’re energizing and not letting the air out of the rooms you enter?