A tangible truth.

“I’m not here to be judged. Neither are you.”

Lies. I knew it and so did he.

But not all judgment is bad. Not all judgment is wrong. Not all judgment is harmful.

“You’re on edge. Why?”

Baring your soul to a stranger is not something you just do. It takes time, and even then it’s done bit by bit. You don’t just meet a stranger and tell them your life story, your problems, without it being awkward. Why would therapy be any different? Awkward for the person baring themselves and awkward for the person who has to process a sudden, unexpected exposure.

It’s like being a flasher and seeing a flasher. The flasher reveals something they normally hide. A planned reveal might be preceded by all kinds of nervousness, but as soon as the deed is done it all goes away. That person walks away a little less burdened.

On the other hand once you spot a flasher you brace yourself, because you don’t know what to expect. What’s underneath? What in their life brought them to this point? Why are they doing this? What are they hoping to get?

Then it happens and suddenly you’ve got a lot to process. That flasher, that person who just shared part of who they are with you waits for your reaction, waits for you to process what just happened. To digest and analyze information that is new to you and routine for them. What emotion will your reaction induce? Joy? Shame? Relief? Turmoil?

That’s what therapy is.

And so we sat in silence, fully aware of that reality.

Judgment would come and exposure would happen. But when would it happen? How would it happen? How long would it take?

“No rush. All in its own time, right?”