I know this was some time back, but I wanted to thank you all for your thoughts on this. You gave me a lot to consider, and the support and kindness from you all was and is incredibly healing. I know part of the reason I struggle so much with connection is circumstance; I’ve lived with a chronic illness for years that’s limited my ability to go places or even sometimes to reach out in online spaces like this (which is part of why I couldn’t reply more at the time). Even when I can connect to people, I often feel this sense of grief when I see where they are on their lives and this sense of being left out of so many spaces, or of having to struggle to be heard or understood at all when my life has taken a different path. It’s made it difficult to feel a sense of trust in belonging. That’s why I’ve appreciated the empathy you all share and you taking the time in spite of your struggles to reach out like this.
@seabird I like that idea of allowing yourself to be both that trusting child and wise adult, and you make a good point that you can care for people and still not fully trust them. I thought you made a lot of good points in truth, especially about the self care and the humor. You’re certainly right, we can all be very silly creatures
@ I Love Tomorrow You also made a good point about the importance of self protection, and not piling more guilt on myself when I’m struggling to trust or believe. That perspective does help. I can see what you mean about being mindful of connections that aren’t healthy or out of balance too; I’ve always found that to be a hard one to balance when I’m feeling isolated, although I hope like you I’m learning.
@zythalore I’m really sorry you’ve had so much of that same experience, and I hope things have been better since you last wrote. It meant a lot that you did reach out even with your own struggles. The reminder to look out for myself does definitely help, and to be careful when my relationships are out of balance; I know I do struggle with that. I hope you did find more of that connection, I agree that’s so precious.
@Waves I hear you. It can be incredibly hard to find that connection anywhere, and I know that’s a terribly lonely and painful feeling. I hadn’t thought about it that way, but you make an interesting point about commitment. I wonder too how many people are feeling hurt by lack of community right now. Regardless, sending care your way