I recognize that I have needs…I need to feel a connection with other humans…And that need for connection shows up on many levels…I need to feel safe…I need to have loving relationships…I need to be appreciated for who I am…It is painful when I feel rejected by others…It is painful when I feel dismissed by others…It is painful because part of me fears that I may be pushed outside my tribe…Where our ancestors were pushed to the outside they faced death…So on a primitive level, part of me fears death…I appreciate that this part of me is afraid…But I can also recognize that being dismissed by others probably will not lead to my death…I recognize that I do want to have deep meaningful relationships…Relationships to give me support…Relationships that give me encouragement…Relationships that allow me to grow and transform…So when I’m dismissed by others it hurts…Because I’m missing those types of relationships…When I feel that sort of pain, it is just me recognizing the need for that type of relationship…Even if I don’t have it in this moment in the way that I want…I know it is possible for me to have these types of relationships…It is possible for me to find them, foster them, and grow them…When my work is dismissed by others, it feels like they are rejecting me…Because I put my time and my energy into my work…I try to be fully present in my work…I give so much of who I am in my work…When people dismiss my work it feels like they are dismissing my worth…It is OK to want to be appreciated…It is OK to want to be acknowledged…At the same time my worth and value is not determined by how someone is responding to me and my work in this moment……Rejection is hard…Being dismissed is painful…It is very human to want connection and support…I give myself permission to recognize those needs…Without being defined by those needs.