my intentions & desires in all connections: goals
icon: "interconnectedness (two bald purple-skinned people in the ocean: from Joan Slonczewski's "Door Into Ocean")"
(This is part of a post I made 3 years ago: relationship anarchy: we each only do what we want / my intentions & desires in all connections)
I am committed to doing my best to always:
respect your personhood: never mock parts of who you are*; never belittle you or call you names; never shut you up or treat you dismissively; never disrespect you in private while acting respectful in public; never assume rights to your things; never try to deliberately deceive you for my gain; never use your vulnerabilities against you; never deliberately or carelessly hurt you; never treat my convenience as more important than your need; never treat you as lesser; never break an agreement without explanation or apology; never use 'loopholes' to justify behavior that I know goes against the spirit of what was expressed.
respect your bodily autonomy: never to touch without consent and never to verbally disrespect or attempt to sway your choices on what to put in or on your body.
respect your agency: never to try to persuade you to do something you don't want to do; never to use emotional manipulation to get you to do something; never deliberately or carelessly make it difficult to say no.
(all of the 'respect' ones are my minimum requirements for friendly acquaintances)
harm none, if possible: do my best to not cause harm to others or myself, yet maintain willingness to cause slight harm to others if the cost of not doing so would be significant damage to myself. Considering not to whom the harm goes, but which harm would be greater.
negotiate expectations: never have any non-consensual expectations of you, nor tolerate you having them of me.
build expectations from desire, not fear: base expectations on practicality and the needs and desires of all affected rather than blocking out scary things.
allow relationships to grow or shrink on their own merit: never invest in or maintain a relationship just because of its type or role. be willing to take breaks or break up if there is a harmful pattern. note patterns and set boundaries if a pattern of behavior begins to cause me damage.
prioritize needs: consider who has the greater need when making decisions on who to give my energy to if I have to choose.
share with you: whatever resources I have to spare I will share with you.
allow you to be the only one responsible for your self-care: never to try to caretake you in a way that has not been negotiated. If you want or need me to caretake you in some way, you are responsible for explaining this and for accepting if I cannot do it. I will not try to read your mind or predict your desires.
support you in your self-care and growth to my best ability: encourage you spending time and energy on activities that nourish you and help you grow and learn, even when they are not at all beneficial to me.
be responsible for my own self-care: never to assume that you will caretake me in any circumstance, and to be prepared for you to be unavailable at any time. I will never expect you to read my mind or predict my desires.
respect my needs: check in with myself regularly on if I am getting my needs met, express it if there are unmet needs, accept help when it is offered and I want it. If one person cannot meet my need, seek another person instead of trying to get the first to change.
pay attention: absorb and try to fully engage with what you share with me. (also, express that this is a need for me!) Inform you as soon as I realize that I cannot pay attention right now. Also, inform you of my abilities regarding attention in general to give you the best chance of me being able to pay attention when it is important.
avoid error-full judgement: assume best intentions and ask questions before assigning meaning to behavior.
compassionately work shit out: kindly and frankly express and resolve upsets before they become resentments or harmful patterns, and empathize and explain before problem-solving.
respect your other connections: make room for them to be nourished and grow.
express affection: when and how I feel it, with consideration for how you feel most loved.
balance kindness with firmness: easily forgive mistakes and be gentle with people's feelings whenever possible, but never invalidate my own experience because the other person is sorry. Be willing to affirm when someone says they acted badly, if it is true.
*If there are parts of you that I cannot respect, I will not be your friend. For example, I cannot respect someone who believes in a flat earth, so we cannot be friends.