In this week's episode we get into how to be mindful of not minimizing other people's experiences when in conversation with them through equalizing. You want the other person sharing with you to feel seen, heard, and validated. If you spend the whole time trying to draw comparisons of what they have experienced to what you have experienced you risk minimizing what they are sharing with you.

I can not really walk a mile in your shoes. I can only understand so much about your life experiences. I can not bear witness to your life through your eyes. If I attempt to draw comparisons with what you have gone through by bridging my past and my experiences with yours - it can actually cut off a great line of communication and influence you to feel unheard, unseen, unvalued, and invalidated.

Communication has its challenges. We all have our own perspective, and through that window we see the world in the way it has been presented to us through our own eyes.

I can work on gaining perspective of your life, but I will never truly be able to duplicate what has formed the basis of your personality and existence - I will never be able to truly know what it is like to be you.

I can put a tremendous amount of effort into seeing, hearing, recognizing, and validating your life's experiences. I can open my mind to your view-points. I can humble myself, which is a key trait to possess when overcoming fear - so that we can build a bridge between your perspective and mine.

There are things I can do. There are behaviors I can have. There is a mindset that opens me up for growth in immeasurable ways - and this I dedicate myself toward. The light can be switched on. The illumination can begin when I put away my internal desire to equate my life to yours - because that can often stop the bridge from being built, rather than lead to its completion.

Thank you so much for listening and being a part of this wonderfully supportive community. No longer are we living in the shadows!

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