Jill Barrett LCSW

01/01/2025

09/27/2024

I Live by 3 Simple Rules: Love Needs Action, Trust Needs Proof, Sorry Needs Change, a Philosophy Guiding My Relationships, Shaping My Connections, and Nurturing My Soul.

Love Needs Action, Not Just Words,
Demonstrated Through Deeds, Not Just Heard.
It Requires Effort, Commitment, and Care,
Consistently Showing Up, Always Being There.

Trust Needs Proof, Not Just Promises,
Verified Through Actions, Not Just Wishes.
It Demands Reliability, Consistency,
Following Through, No Matter the Complexity.

Sorry Needs Change, Not Just Regret,
Backed by Actions, Not Just Words to Forget.
It Involves Growth, Learning from Mistakes,
Making Amends, for Hearts to Rebuild and Awake.

These 3 Rules Form the Foundation,
Of Healthy Bonds, Free from Manipulation.
They Foster Depth, Authenticity, and Strength,
In Relationships That Last, Through Life's Length.

Love Without Action Is Empty,
Trust Without Proof Is Hollow and Shaky.
Sorry Without Change Is Meaningless,
Leaving Wounds Open, Hearts Unmended and Weary.

By Embracing These Principles, I Cultivate,
Relationships Built on Mutual Respect, Trust, and Gratitude.
I Attract Those Who Value Action, Proof, and Change,
Together We Grow, Our Bonds Range.

In a World Where Words Are Cheap,
These Rules Remind Me to Prioritize Depth.
Where Love, Trust, and Apologies Are Genuine,
Our Connections Flourish, Our Hearts Renew.

I Live by These 3 Simple Rules,
A Guiding Light, Illuminating Life's Cruel Tools.
Love Needs Action, Trust Needs Proof,
Sorry Needs Change, the Mantra I Embody and Choose.

07/14/2024

Right on!

12/15/2023

Twinkling lights on trees, menorahs and kinaras in windows, classic films on every channel, carols ringing out in the streets—these holiday symbols can inspire the best feelings in the world, but they can also feel oppressive when the holiday cheer is not our reality.

There is perhaps no other time of year in which the pleasure and pain of our memories are front and center—in which we experience such ambivalence about our own sense of joy. We're reminded that complex emotions can exist simultaneously. Gifts fill beneath the tree and light shines from the windows of our homes, but many of our hearts feel empty, our worlds dark.

As we celebrate the holidays, we also remember all that we've lost. We remember those around the world that suffer, and are struck by the contrast between the season and the reality of our world today. As we try to find balance between joy and pain this holiday season, know that there are others who understand and empathize—you are not alone. And in acknowledging the complexity in ourselves we are able to have compassion for one another.

10/09/2023

Life will break you. Nobody can protect you from that, and being alone won't either, for solitude will also break you with its yearning. You have to love. You have to feel. It is the reason you are here on earth. You have to risk your heart. You are here to be swallowed up. And when it happens that you are broken, or betrayed, or left, or hurt, or death brushes too near, let yourself sit by an apple tree and listen to the apples falling all around you in heaps, wasting their sweetness. Tell yourself that you tasted as many as you could. ~Louise Erdrich

(Book: The Painted Drum https://amzn.to/47ojLIx)

09/11/2023

From A Joseph Campbell Companion.
Get the book!

https://www.jcf-shop.org/product-page/a-joseph-campbell-companion