When we break through our layers of protectedness — of holding back, of shutting down, of demanding that life or a person be a certain way in order to give us what we think we need (whether admiration, safety, trust, or love) — what happens? We begin to touch the essence of who we are, which is connectedness and love. This is the only place where real trust can be found.
— Ezra Bayda, At Home in the Muddy Water