Most of us really dont like it when someone is angry at us. We dont like it when people go into resistance to helping us when we need help, instead of caring about us. We dont like it when people withdraw from us, disconnecting from us and shutting us out. We dont like it when people make demands on us and do not respect our right or need to say no. Many of us will do almost anything to avoid the soul loneliness and pain we feel when people treat us in angry, resistant, demanding and uncaring ways.
It takes great courage to stay loving to ourselves and others when faced with others angry and closed behavior. It especially take courage when the people we are dealing with are our own children. Yet unless we have the courage to come up against our childrens anger, resistance, and withdrawal, we will give ourselves up and not take care of ourselves to avoid their uncaring reactions. The more we deny our own truth and our own needs and feelings, the more our children will disrespect and discount us. Our children become a mirror of our own behavior, discounting us when we discount ourselves, disrespecting us when we disrespect ourselves. The more we give ourselves up to avoid...