Connecting

I used to believe this:

When other people are made to feel important and appreciated, it will no longer be necessary for them to whittle others down in order to be seen bigger by comparison.  Virginia Arcastle

 Please visit our websites at www.innerkiddies.com, or http://www.makeitfunanditwillgetdone.com/products-page/hapf/the-sidetracked-sisters-happiness-file/

I don't any more.  I thought I could pour into someone else until they felt no need to criticize, belittle, and tear me down.  It wasn't until my holes were revealed and no matter how much my counselors tried to make me feel important and appreciated, I couldn't see it.  I do believe we need to share with others how important they are to us.  I do believe we need to appreciate one another but no person can do enough for someone else until they are ready to believe they are important and what they do is appreciated.  There is nothing anyone can do to convince a person that tears others down to build themselves up that the only person they are hurting is themselves.  My counselors cannot make me feel good about myself.  I cannot make someone else feel good about themselves.  When Christ said, ^{"Mark 12:31} And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these." I might think about it as I can only love my neighbor as much as I love myself.  If I want to increase my love for others then I need to increase my love for myself.  The people that heap criticism on me will not do anything differently until they love themselves more.  What I do does not change the situation.  If I do everything my critic ask me to do, they will simply find something new to criticize, since the criticism is not about me.  In reverse, if I want to love others more, I need to love and appreciate myself more.  I am fascinated by this connection between loving others and loving myself.  I am still trying to grasp the width and breadth of what it means.  I finally understand how powerful the connection is.

Delicate connections