This looks nothing like the Maker's bosom

you are not out of paper

you have so much paper

it’s okay to function as intended

you are not out of ink

i just refilled that cartridge last month

you can connect to that computer you’re supposed to connect to

And it's that thing where you mentally place yourself as the second, auxiliary party to someone else that you consider to be "In Charge" of whatever space or occupation or responsibility you are assigned to

And when you are IN that mindset, it *feels* like you're being responsible. It *feels* like you're being respectful, and helpful, and contributing to the load.

But what you don't SEE- because it *feels* like deference- is that the other person who you're seeing as The Authority you report to- by being assigned that role, has also been assigned the invisible load of BEING YOUR MANAGER.

This is by FAR most commonly seen in husband-and-wife relationships, where the man says, "just tell me what I can do to HELP- you don't have to do it all by yourself, but it's like you won't even tell me when you NEED help. You just do everything and then get mad at me for not doing it first. I can help clean. I can help with the kids. I can help"

But I also see it- and am guilty myself of doing it- at work, at school, in public- that mental, "this is THEIR space, and i will be respectful and helpful to THEM"- without realizing that subservience in this manner isn't actually a good thing. That it actually shifts the burden of responsibility to the other person. That aspect was totally invisible to me.

I didn't understand that when I was told, "if you see something that needs to be done, just DO it", or, "take the initiative", what they ACTUALLY meant was, "I am not above you", or "you have equal say in what kind of environment you want to live or work in", or "I do not want full control over what happens here, I do not want to order you around, I do not want to be in charge, what I WANT is to co-command WITH you"

Being in The Assigned Authority position NOW, that is all so much clearer.

I am the senior member of my team at work, and now, every time I train a newbie, every time I finish catching them up to speed and giving them a list of everything that needs to be done, my next big hurdle seems to always be, "now take pride in the space when I'm not around". "Now don't assume I'll tell you when something is due or what orders to plan things in".

Now, having been on both sides of the struggle, I can appreciate the sticking points here

TO THE PERSON "IN CHARGE": The person deferring to you doesn't understand the invisible labor you're doing. They genuinely believe you know more, you WANT more, you see things they don't, and that they are being respectful and good by staying out of your way and waiting on your orders. THAT is the bit that's not clicking.

TO THE PERSON "WANTING TO HELP": "Help" implies that you are providing assistance to a problem that belongs to somebody else. Stop thinking like that. Understand that the problem belongs to BOTH of you equally, and consider what kind of shared space you BOTH want. What is your SHARED GOAL? Not THEIR goal, but a goal that belongs to you too. Own your space.

This is not a Commander-Lieutenant problem. This is a Partnership problem.

Hello all! I hope everyone's having a wonderful summer so far! I'm once again hosting another sale for my commissions <3

Any commission orders I receive from Today, July 17th to August 31st, will receive a 20% discount of their final price! This includes those put on my wait list during this time frame! All of my slots are currently open, so if you've been interested in commissioning me now is a great time to do so!

If you're interested, please feel free to shoot me a DM, or email me at [[email protected]]! You can also find more information about my commissions on my Terms of Service Page

a few commission examples can be found under the cut <3

Hello all! I hope everyone's having a wonderful summer so far! I'm once again hosting another sale for my commissions <3

Any commission orders I receive from Today, July 17th to August 31st, will receive a 20% discount of their final price! This includes those put on my wait list during this time frame! All of my slots are currently open, so if you've been interested in commissioning me now is a great time to do so!

If you're interested, please feel free to shoot me a DM, or email me at [[email protected]]! You can also find more information about my commissions on my Terms of Service Page

a few commission examples can be found under the cut <3

Hello all! I hope everyone's having a wonderful summer so far! I'm once again hosting another sale for my commissions <3

Any commission orders I receive from Today, July 17th to August 31st, will receive a 20% discount of their final price! This includes those put on my wait list during this time frame! All of my slots are currently open, so if you've been interested in commissioning me now is a great time to do so!

If you're interested, please feel free to shoot me a DM, or email me at [[email protected]]! You can also find more information about my commissions on my Terms of Service Page

a few commission examples can be found under the cut <3

This lead me to realize that I conflated the face of Darth Vader with the face of a toy featured prominently in commercials around the time when I was a kid, so allow me to introduce you to what I thought Darth Vader looked like for 25+ years of my life:

Hello all! I hope everyone's having a wonderful summer so far! I'm once again hosting another sale for my commissions <3

Any commission orders I receive from Today, July 17th to August 31st, will receive a 20% discount of their final price! This includes those put on my wait list during this time frame! All of my slots are currently open, so if you've been interested in commissioning me now is a great time to do so!

If you're interested, please feel free to shoot me a DM, or email me at [[email protected]]! You can also find more information about my commissions on my Terms of Service Page

a few commission examples can be found under the cut <3