Safety and Connection

"Safety is not the absence of threat...

it is the presence of connection." 

-Gabor Mate

What comes up for you when you think about safety for your children?

There may be a lot of different thoughts and feelings swirling around for you.

And in the midst of all that I am hoping you know- I am here. I'm curious about what you think about this and how you're doing right now.

I'm right here. You can say anything, feel anything, there is no right or wrong way to feel. There is no judgment. There is only a steady and unwavering commitment to compassion. A deep desire for all of us to be free from suffering, to know peace.

It can feel difficult to share our inner voices and fears, our guilt and shame. Sometimes it can feel like jumping off a cliff... risky.

But if we want our children to feel the fullness of a deeply satisfying and rich life, to feel free to share what's on their mind and let go, we have to go through it too. We need a place, a person to go to. For us.

If you want, please hit "reply" and write to me. Even if it's just one word. It can be anything. And it doesn't even have to be about this, it can be absolutely anything that's going on in your world right now. I'd love to know what you're thinking, what your feeling.

Your email to me might look like this:

tired

Or it might be five hundred words. I will read every single one of them.

I don't know about you, but in my parenting journey I have hit the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. We need each other, there's no getting around it. Let's create this world together, the world where we can be vulnerable because we know there's someone there to catch us, to see us. And to celebrate with us our strengths through it all!

Author and researcher Brene Brown tells us, "shame cannot survive being spoken, it cannot survive empathy." What are you holding in today? What needs to be spoken or written out loud?  If it's not to me, I encourage you to reach out to a dear friend, a family member, a helping professional, and share what's on your mind and heart. Even just writing a letter and not sending it can be immensely helpful too.

Whatever it is you decide to do today, please receive my wish for you,

...may you be free from suffering, may you know peace.

With so much love,

Vanessa