JhonRae's Blog

I needed words of affirmation. You spoke to my wounds. I needed to hear “I’m sorry” without excuses. You spoke to my wounds. I needed to see accountability without projection. You spoke to my wounds. I needed to see initiative to build safety and trust. You spoke to my wounds. I needed to be heard without pushing back. You spoke to my wounds. I needed validation to feel accepted. You spoke to my wounds. I needed empathy without judgement. You spoke to my wounds. I needed to hear you. Instead, I experienced defensiveness. You spoke to my wounds. My internal experiences are no one else’s to bare but my own. What wounds do you carry?  

To build a healthy foundation for any relationship such as family, friends or romance you need open communication, trust, mutual respect and the ability to build emotional safety. Open communication is about sharing thoughts and feelings without the fear of judgement. Trust is to have faith that individual is honest and sincere with their intentions and has your back. Mutual respect is setting boundaries, supporting each other’s opinions and perspectives while honoring and working through differences. Emotional safety is becoming vulnerable by opening up about fears, mistakes, rejection, judgement, stigma, and past hurt. As I continuously reflect on who I am and what I want in life I realize I don’t always apply these qualities to myself. I’ve lost faith in who I want to be. Lost trust in my abilities to overcome certain challenges. Rejecting different aspects of myself, and judging my past, present and future self. All parts of self-doubt that can be all consuming. I haven’t built...