It’s been said that in order to receive trust you have to be willing to give trust. For some people that’s a very scary thing. By turning yourself inside out, you are opening yourself up to potential judgment which may or may not be in your favor. But I say, it’s worth the risk. By opening up and sharing our hearts, we learn that no matter how we feel or what we’ve experienced, we are not alone.

I know people who always travel a little off the path. They are never quite able to follow directions because they can’t see the signs. They are pioneers and they are extraordinary. They are easy to lose, no matter how close I follow. In the blink of an eye, they are gone. I find that if I want to keep them close, I need to use my heart to keep up, not my mind - for my mind will always fall behind.

We sometimes think that if we just "want" it enough or "love" it enough we will get what we are working so hard to obtain. After all, don’t we deserve it? But willing or forcing something into existence rarely works. So relax, if it was meant to be it will happen organically without any push from you. It will be natural and true and worthy of your wanting.

Communication is priceless, especially when it comes to the truth. Deal with issues head on, not behind a passive aggressive mask. Keeping your true feelings to yourself causes the other person’s mind to twist and spin. It leaves an impression that has absolutely nothing to do with your truth. Give them honest reasons so that they can choose honest actions. Whether it is to walk away or hang in there with you.

When you share your "feelings" do people sometimes tell you you’re wrong for feeling a particular way - that you should feel differently? People who disagree with feelings are fighting a losing battle. You can’t argue with the way someone feels. Instead, understanding where the other person is coming from, which is from their own frame of reference, based on their own life experiences, validates.

Manipulative - selfish - always out to prove you wrong. Your words were twisted into something unrecognizable that suited another's purpose. A hidden agenda that left you wondering if there was something wrong with you. There wasn’t. In the end, you embraced the strength of your resolve and accepted the limit of your patience. You saw the wasted space and you learned how to gracefully walk away.