To remain soft

I use to think tenderness was weakness.

That if they saw my soft they would take

take

take

That if the sensitivity that is woven into my very being

was witnessed,

they would think I was less.

That if I showed my heart, naked and true

They would see it and think…

she should be stronger.

That if my softness was seen

it would be taken advantage of.

I look back and i see a deep desire to share all these parts of me. The beautiful parts that lay the very foundation of who I am.

And I see fear entangled in every bit of those pieces. We live in a society that values the do-er. The emotionless. The ones that think, don’t feel. Avoid, don’t express.

Somehow we’ve been trained to see these as strengths. They are nothing more than scared little parts of us afraid to feel. Parts that need to be loved and shown and seen and felt.

To love is to be brave.

To remain soft in a world that promises us pain is to be strong.

To keep your heart open in a world full of heartbreak is courageous

To offer tenderness in moments when another heart is hurting is loving

To be kind is to be true to the very essence of who we are.

To show compassion over judgment is to rise above what is easy.

Love, vulnerability, tenderness, these are all so powerful. I think some of the most powerful forces in this world.

Here’s to going back to them again and again and again.