Sex, Love, & Relationships
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Holding Space Without Walking on Eggshells
Holding space means offering steady attention without rushing to fix, judge, or take over. Walking on eggshells is different: we monitor every word because another person’s reaction feels dangerous or impossible to tolerate. The first supports dignity. The second gradually removes us from the relationship. Support Needs a Container A container answers practical questions: How…
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Love & Relationships Study Group
Love and relationships ask us to keep learning. Attraction, friendship, family, intimacy, loneliness, conflict, caregiving, and belonging all bring different parts of us into the room. This collection grew from an ongoing Thriving Now study group led primarily by Rick and Cathy. Jean and Simone were recurring community facilitators, and Dave joined the facilitation as…
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Heartbreak and Breakups: Empowering and Comforting Yourself During and After
Wouldn’t it be affirming, amidst the pain that naturally comes when relationships change, to hear from your dearest friends: “Wow, you’re handling this SO well” and “I’m really proud of how you’re behaving amidst all this” and…
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Who Holds The Key… To YOUR Love?
What is it that opens your heart to that yummy, warm, essential feeling of being loved? This past week I’ve struggled more than usual. It has seemed that some essential emotional nutrient was… missing.
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Relationship Self-Esteem: Stay Connected Without Leaving Yourself
Self-esteem is not sealed inside us. Different relationships evoke different parts of our confidence. With one person we feel playful and capable. With another we anticipate judgment, rejection, or abandonment before anything has happened. This does not mean the relationship is entirely responsible for how we feel. Nor does it mean every insecurity is “just…
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Shame, Rescue, and the Belief You Must Save Them
Care can turn into a rescue obligation: “If I grow, leave, feel peaceful, or stop worrying, I am abandoning them.” We focus enormous emotional energy on another person’s pain and feel guilty whenever our own life expands. The impulse often comes from love. It may also come from an old role in which our value…