by Yvette Erasmus | Nov 15, 2016 | Compassion, Dialogue
Over the last week, my sense of living in a nation deeply divided intensified.I’m reminded of the ever-present, low-grade fear and anxiety I felt as a young teenager living under a State of Emergency in South Africa under the rule of Apartheid.Caught between the...
by Yvette Erasmus | Aug 23, 2016 | Dialogue, Relationships, Universal Human Needs, Empowerment, Self-sabotage, Slowing Down, Compassion, Communication, Reactivity, NVC
This week I have the pleasure of responding directly to a question that someone recently sent me: I was recently having a conversation with my sister about how to gracefully bow out of a situation when we know we need to give ourselves time to re-energize.I...
by Yvette Erasmus | Jun 7, 2016 | Empathy, Empowerment, Connection, Compassion, Dialogue, Communication
When I used to hear things like: “Don’t take this personally, but …” or “I am not trying to criticize you, but …” my hackles would rise in preparation. My loyal defenses would kick in (we all know whatever follows that “but” is not going to be good) and I would...