On one side, the world says "toughen up". Or the other, our hearts need to sing and dance and remain open, soft, and not just beat, bang and clock in mindlessly.
Yes, yes, YES. This is so vital. I have struggled with this myself, struggled with the urge to protect myself by cutting out feeling and connections, and it just crushes you if you succeed at cutting ties to your own emotions.
Thank you for a thoughtful post on this important topic!
Thanks for the encouragement, Tessara. This is a very important topic indeed! :D
Even though I've been an artist for most of my life, it's only recently that I've learned how to take care of my own heart (by putting it first in line to be taken care of).
The amazing thing is that all my other relationships started becoming more harmonious without any active effort from me.
It may be cliched, but I think there's truth to the saying that you cannot fully love another until you love yourself. In this case, you cannot honor the feelings and full humanity of another until you honor your own!