Have you ever heard intimacy described that way? Recently I read an article by Ed and Deb Shapiro that added another piece to this simple description of intimacy.
Intimacy - Into Me I See - Into Me You See! Most of us, when we think about and talk about intimacy, we are talking about our view of getting close to another person.
But how can we get close to someone else before we have examined our own self.
Know thyself first.
I have heard love described in a way that explains why intimacy is often so difficult to attain.
Love brings up anything unlike itself for the purpose of release and healing.
Therefore, even in the most "safe" and "loving" relationship, our "intimate" partner may trigger in us emotions, attitudes, insecurities, fears and downright unattractive personal qualities that we have been suppressing and hiding, even from our own self.
For many, especially those who have not been willing to self-reflect and take personal responsibility for their emotions and their life, an "intimate relationship" can be the most dangerous place in the world.
Creating intimacy requires allowing yourself to be seen and known and acknowledged.
It also requires seeing, knowing and acknowledging the other person for who they truly are.
And then it involves each partner allowing them self and their partner to express their true feelings without fear of being criticized, judged or abandoned.
Not an easy task when dealing with the normal stresses of day to day living and all the preconceived ideas we hold in our mind about the way love "should' be..
Many of us demand more from our intimate partners than we expect of our own self.
We forgive our self for thinking, feeling or behaving in unloving ways but we expect our partner to just forgive us and love us anyway.
Some of us expect more from our own self than from others.
We forgive and forget, only to harbor unexpressed resentments that appear out of the blue at seemingly inappropriate moments.
Intimacy is not for the faint of heart.
Intimacy is an ongoing creative process, slowly revealing and sharing bits and pieces of our innermost workings.
Intimacy begins with accepting and loving our own self first.
My question for you is this: Have you faced your own inner demons? Do you like, love and truly accept yourself the way you are now? And how do you feel when someone you know "gets" you, sees you the way you believe you really are? Are you ready for true intimacy in your life? Just remember, you don't have to do it all alone.
Intimacy - Into Me I See - Into Me You See! Most of us, when we think about and talk about intimacy, we are talking about our view of getting close to another person.
But how can we get close to someone else before we have examined our own self.
Know thyself first.
I have heard love described in a way that explains why intimacy is often so difficult to attain.
Love brings up anything unlike itself for the purpose of release and healing.
Therefore, even in the most "safe" and "loving" relationship, our "intimate" partner may trigger in us emotions, attitudes, insecurities, fears and downright unattractive personal qualities that we have been suppressing and hiding, even from our own self.
For many, especially those who have not been willing to self-reflect and take personal responsibility for their emotions and their life, an "intimate relationship" can be the most dangerous place in the world.
Creating intimacy requires allowing yourself to be seen and known and acknowledged.
It also requires seeing, knowing and acknowledging the other person for who they truly are.
And then it involves each partner allowing them self and their partner to express their true feelings without fear of being criticized, judged or abandoned.
Not an easy task when dealing with the normal stresses of day to day living and all the preconceived ideas we hold in our mind about the way love "should' be..
Many of us demand more from our intimate partners than we expect of our own self.
We forgive our self for thinking, feeling or behaving in unloving ways but we expect our partner to just forgive us and love us anyway.
Some of us expect more from our own self than from others.
We forgive and forget, only to harbor unexpressed resentments that appear out of the blue at seemingly inappropriate moments.
Intimacy is not for the faint of heart.
Intimacy is an ongoing creative process, slowly revealing and sharing bits and pieces of our innermost workings.
Intimacy begins with accepting and loving our own self first.
My question for you is this: Have you faced your own inner demons? Do you like, love and truly accept yourself the way you are now? And how do you feel when someone you know "gets" you, sees you the way you believe you really are? Are you ready for true intimacy in your life? Just remember, you don't have to do it all alone.