The Folly of Protection

Something I discovered in therapy is that whenever I was trying to “protect” someone’s feelings, I was ultimately trying to protect myself, my OWN tender, little girl who felt scared of the reactions of others.

It’s a bit like finding a little robin’s nest with eggs in tact. We want to save it and make sure the eggs don’t crack. Why? Not because the eggs will hatch and we will care for the little birds. We can’t “save them”. We want to preserve it to keep it as it is because it’s beautiful and delicate and we like it that way. It’s self-serving.

Eventually the eggs will rot.
Eventually the nest will decay.
That is the way of Life.
It is paradoxically ephemeral and infinite.

Feeding a desire to maintain the status quo so we aren’t hurt or disappointed is folly.

Having the courage to speak our truth, live our truth and live with the blood and chaos and mess of it all, that is the path of the warrior.

That is that path I choose.