“Be kind, for everyone is fighting a hard battle” ~ Plato

This simple quote is originally attributed to Plato, the Greek author and philosopher, but has been re-quoted over and over in many different forms over the years. In my mind, it doesn’t matter who said the words first, what is important is the deep truth behind the words. We all are fighting battles, yet it is so simple to forget this in our everyday lives. Most people walk through this world with our defenses up and hide behind judgement of others to help keep our esteem up and our minds distracted from our struggles. Subconsciously we feel better if we make others feel smaller. The problem with this is we become disconnected from others and isolate ourselves behind walls of our own making. This seems to be painfully true in the world of young girls, mothers and women. Not that by any means we are the only group of people guilty of this. To see this kind of judgement play out all you have to do is turn on the TV to a news station and watch this type of judgement play out in every political arena in our country and around the world.

This reality seems to become more obvious to me when we find ourselves in a time of sadness and loss. So many of my friends are currently dealing with great losses, myself included, and the world is definitely not being spared from this type of suffering. But to me it seems like there are more people leaving this world and crossing over. I don’t know that there has been a time in my life where I have known more people who have passed on. It seems to not be sparing anyone these days and this is what got me thinking and typing as well. We humans are capable of creating great things, great love as well as creating great suffering upon each other. Yet no matter what is going on in our lives we all try so hard to keep each other from knowing what is going on inside ourselves. Now don’t get me wrong, some of this is a great protection mechanism we have created to keep ourselves from being hurt further but to protect ourselves in this manner also keeps out the love and support and despite our best efforts we need that love and support. We are designed to need other people. This simple fact has created a lot of controversy inside me at times, because while growing up I convinced myself that to need others created a weakness that made me more vulnerable than I cared to be. To not need others, kept me safe or at least that is what I chose to believe. But now, at this point in my life, I can need the positive people who I have in my life and still not allow myself to come to harm at the hands of people who want to harm me. This may not sound like a big task in writing but trust me it is huge for me and I dare say for others as well.

One of the greatest gifts I feel we can give to others is our vulnerability, love and support. By allowing people to see us strong as well as weak we are giving them the gift of knowing us. (I hope that reads the way I am intending it to and not in some arrogant manner) If we could allow ourselves to look at people differently then we can change the way others interact with us as well. When we can see every person as a whole being, one that suffers, one that loves, one that has been hurt, one that struggles with their own issues daily, then we being to see through the walls and into the heart of that person. We no longer see just the shell of the person, we can see past the scars and emotional battle wounds but we can begin to see the beautiful being of light that we are all on the inside. We can allow ourselves to care for others, even if it is just for five minutes as we pass them in the store or on the road. We can send love to another who is hurt or crying, or even to someone who is laughing and radiating joy at the table beside us. This is gift we can give each other and to the world. And I think we all can agree, that no matter what background, political group or belief system we come from, that this world needs more love. That we all need more love.

One of the hardest things to do is to appreciate someone while they are still here among us. We all seem to come together and appreciate someone who has passed. We all share memories, stories and love with each other about the person who has passed, but imagine what that kind of love could mean to someone who is still here. Why do we wait until after someone is gone to say all of the nice things we feel? It is such a waste of love that people could so deeply need when they are here suffering in silence. We all suffer in silence and we all could benefit from feeling cherished and appreciated everyday. I think everyone has heard or possibly said the words “don’t forget to tell the people you love that you love them before it is too late” and we seem to remember this during our time of mourning and grief but do we really do it? And do we keep doing it once our day-to-day life is back to normal, so to speak? I know that I am guilty of not always sharing my feelings. There is a fear of rejection that comes hand in hand with love, that make me hesitate but I don’t want to live my life with regret. I want to live my life each day filled with love. I think the contradiction of the overuse and at the same time the under use of the word love also complicates this entire process. In particular with situations that deal with friendships of the opposite sex. There is this fear of over sharing or someone taking your words the wrong way, but the truth is some of the people I love the most are the male friends I have in my life. Yet I don’t always feel comfortable telling them I love them the same way I do with my female friends. This can get us into an entire other topic so I won’t go to deep with this right now, but I want to live my life open. And by that I mean open enough that I can let the people who are important to me know that I care for them, that I love them without hiding behind my walls. Telling someone you love them can be a very hard thing to do but sometimes you just have to take the risk and jump in with both feet.

“The most valuable gift you can receive is an honest friend” ~ Steven Richards

To all of my dear friends in this world ~ I Love You!