Day by Day AS ...

For so long we have been told not to be innocent bystanders- that we need to stand up for those around us. But what about standing up for ourselves?  I'm not talking simply standing up to a bully, but truly standing up for ourselves.  For our beliefs.  Our values.  The way our individual minds work.  Standing up for our quirks and our negative qualities (we all have them- we aren't perfect...perfection isn't achievable).  Stand up for our thoughts.  For who we are.  And, god forbid, we need to stand up for our emotions, for how we feel.  We're just going to be trampled over if we don't.  And none of us deserve that.  We're all worthy of expressing ourselves without fear of judgement. I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I struggle almost every day to stand up for myself. I've finally realized that it all goes back to one reason why- fear.  Fear of rejection.  Fear of not being understood. Fear of judgement.  Fear...

We all have been taught from a young age the value of communication, and good communication at that.  But what is communication?  Better yet, what is good communication?? Communication can take many forms, all of them falling under a category of either verbal or non-verbal.  It is the ability to send messages, convey information, and/or use actions to relay information or establish a point. That being said, we use communication every day.  We use it when we order food or drinks, we communicate when we say 'hello' or 'goodbye' and it is shaped by our tone of voice, our body language, and the format of any sentence.  So what is good communication?  Are we always expected to be able to communicate in a good manner? I'm not so sure.