
My inner child is attuned to contradiction.
It is what I learned.
When someone's words and feelings do not match,
'the child within' notes the discrepancy.
My dysfunctional family was full of such discrepancies
and in time I learned to mistrust my own perceptions.
As an adult,
my mistrust of my sense of reality
sometimes means that I do not question unreasonable demands
at work or within relationships.
"I care about you but I am too busy to listen,"
is a contradiction if my friend or partner rarely lets me share my feelings.
As I recover from my old behaviors and beliefs about myself,
I pay attention to the confused feelings
produced by such contradictions.
I let my inner child note the discrepancy
and I choose the best course of action.
I may ask questions,
set clear limits or end a relationship.
Today I will trust my perceptions to guide my actions.