It is easy to believe that connection requires saying the right thing. I have learned it does not. It requires saying almost nothing, just a few simple phrases that change everything. You already have the tools to transform your most difficult conversations; you just have not been taught to use them.

It is easy to think love is a feeling. I have come to see it differently. Love is the experience of safety, and when safety disappears, honesty fades, connection weakens, and growth stops. What I want you to take with you is simple.

For much of my life, and in all of my relationships, I thought strength meant being loud, certain, and in control of every situation. I believed that if I could just push harder, speak stronger, or stand firmer, I would be seen as capable and respected. But over the years, I’ve learned something very different.   Strength is not volume; it is control.   Real strength shows up in the moments when emotions surge and everything in me wants to react. It is the ability to pause instead of...