Creating Safety & Connection

​"Acknowledging and validating the impact of certain kinds of boundaries can create so much safety and connection.
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We can offer a lifeline to the hearts of those we love by simply acknowledging how our boundaries might impact them.
We can share empathy by feeling into the parts of ourselves that are also impacted by certain boundaries we might set.
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Doing this doesn’t need to take away from setting a boundary, it merely honors another’s experience (when it’s appropriate to do so) if there’s some hurt there.
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“Gosh I’ve been really distant lately taking care of things and that must have been really hard for you.”
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“I imagine how lonely you must feel when I am not able to join you for these important events.”
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“I know we used to spend so much time together. I also feel the sadness with the physical distance between us.”
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“It hurts me so much that I am unable hold space for what you’re going through. I really wish I could.”
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All of us will sometimes feel rejection when our loved ones are taking care of themselves.
All of us will deliver feelings of rejection in others even as we uphold our limits.
We can’t avoid these things.
It is part of human.
It is what makes space for authentic and long-lasting relationships.
// Silvy Khoucasian