my father is a narcissistic sociopath

he punished me by humiliation

so when i have encountered narcissistic sociopaths—i havent done well

there is a string of them ive worked with—one recently i met through a friend

usually my method for handling these people is to humiliate them (a totally easy task)

but that leaves me locked in the humiliator-humiliated pattern

this time i didnt do that

this time i did not humiliate at all—i guided like a brother—i set boundaries for myself (not well—but i did) and eventually i set even more boundaries

but i did it in a friendly loving way

(albeit awkwardly !!)

and when i knew i had handled this latest one acceptably—that night i had a dream where my dad died—falling away suddenly and forever into deep blue waterfall mist

as though he is no longer an obstacle (no longer a challenge—no longer a lesson) for me

this wasnt perfect—but it was acceptable (so ill work it again the next time around—and improve !!)