We will not meet.

Beyond the non-agreement

It begins with intimacy.

And so, I start with a failure. A nice buffer to being a dud on the connection front is a talent I do possess: trust. I trust and trust my trust. Being ‘screwed’ I fear not. Finding myself wronged or short, left, and lonely — no big deal. I actually never even think about it, nor am I fully aware of the probability of advantage-taking.

Even writing that feels odd, a little stupid, and highly naïve and good cause for the question: why bring this up?

Baggage is the answer. Ending this most recent week, I carry it “home” into the weekend. That happens now and again, more so when a certain theme comes up with several clients and other professional encounters all at once. Relationships — in personal and professional unions, with staff and hiring, between supervisors and supervisees, consultants and creatives with patrons and clients/customers, parents and children, and so on. All those whom we connect with, are connected to, those kinds of folx. Each nuanced, yet the type of experience very shared.

What in particular has come across the ticker tape in sessions this week, and something too that I am feeling in my own tiny world, are the topics of disagreement and expectations.

Take for instance the giving of advice, a remark of correction, the bravery to refine the logistics of a relationship, or a reaction to something said in the moment that lands as both confronting and clarifying as to where each/either party stands — and that no longer looks to be a good thing. These moments are many times the cause of what can be said as a break. Break up. Break away. Break from.

Here is what I think: that is a great thing for any relationship, mostly that of one with one’s self. Rather than break any confidentiality — I’ll share something from my own recent experience to best and better contextualize what I am talking about. All I ask is for you to be patient with yet another look into the life of your dear author: Tracy Michele Bullock.

Here we go:

I don’t always agree with my clients, ethically in practice, habit, nor action. There are degrees of this, for sure. And I have very clear stop-loss topics and outlooks, but between those ‘Hell no’ stances and…