Welcome fellow Hopeful Partners
Who we are, and what we're hoping to do together
I’ve been contemplating for some time, what I want to create and offer back into the world for people who - like me - believe in the power of relationships. And also for people - like me - who find their heart and minds sometimes fighting inside their bodies, and creating barriers to connection with the people they hold dear.
In my work as a therapist, and in my life as a partner, I witness the pull so many of us feel to hold our partners at arms length. I also witness, underneath our defenses, the desire to let our partners in…to open our hearts and share our fears and build connection and hope in the relationships we’ve chosen.
At an event in San Francisco, I heard a tech founder of a dating app make the bold claim (as founders love to do) “Falling in love is the biggest challenge anyone us will do in our lives.” I couldn’t help myself but respond:
“Bullshit. Falling in love is easy - you have a flood of hormones keeping your hopes high and your defenses down. Keeping your life partner, choosing them each day and choosing your relationship above your own opinions and judgements, that’s the challenge.”
The Hopeful Partner is my offering, a weekly meditation to individuals on how to build awareness, perspective, and connection with choices that are within your control.
This isn’t about your partner, this is about you, and me, and the daily ways we want to nurture and lean into the partnerships we hold dear.
Each weekly newsletter will introduce the moment of doubt, explore the story we tell ourselves, and offer a way forward to get out of our heads and build hope in our relationship. I will have imaginary quotes, pulling from the thoughts that have bounced around my own head during challenging times in my relationships.
This community is for the fellow hopeful partners out there, who feel committed to the relationship they’re in, but need support to cultivate a sense of possibility when they feel doubt and strain in their relationship. I’ve published a set of resources as well, for those who are questioning if their relationship is safe or the right one for them. This newsletter isn’t advocating to stay in every relationship - it’s supporting folks to build strength and hope within the relationships they know have a beautiful foundation that still needs nurturing. If that speaks to you - I hope you join us :).
With a warm heart,
Gwendolyn Watson