Today and every day, choose love over fear until it becomes your habit. Wayne Dyer

Today I reminded myself of the time I was freer. Back when I could Love without fear, and find strength in vulnerability. In the past months I have grown afraid of potentially hurting others and being hurt which naturally limited my ability to give my love without holding back and looking for reciprocity. It stopped me from being direct and honest to the degree I wanted to. (But if we are, indeed, destined to live our own separate realities, isn’t the only way to bridge the inherent gap between each other precisely direct, honest communication?!)
Ironically, I had put myself and others through a lot of pain simply by trying not to cause pain. In the past I lived life to its fullest intensity, and accepted pain as a normal part on the path of learning. I have been hurt and I have, certainly, hurt others. But maybe we shouldn’t villanize pain, and strive to escape it. One thing I had embraced before and forgotten recently is that pain and being hurt are a catalyst of change and transformation.

Being afraid of hurting others and being hurt petrifies us and leaves little space for the good stuff in life- like Love and Empathy. If we accept the possibility of occasionally getting hurt or hurting others (without it being intentional, of course!) as an inevitable part of life that we can nevertheless celebrate, we may find that in the end fear isn’t really worth it and that guardedness is much more dangerous than vulnerability.