Be our own shepherd
essay
People are afraid of love. Of openness and vulnerability. One of the ways we are afraid of it is because we aren't taught how to dance with our feelings.
If we were encouraged to have vast emotions and hearts, taught resilience, and given tools to love ourselves, things would be a lot better.
We would trust in ourselves and we would be able to move through disaster and pain more easily.
When we are taught to ignore our intuition, we become more malleable to others doing it for us.
At the end of the day only we ourselves can decide what our line is, and what our beliefs are. Communities are great and needed but not to the detriment of our own self-sovereignty.
Because we are not schooled on thinking for ourselves, we must practice. We must dedicate ourselves to educating ourselves on how we feel and what we think. Not how the group feels, or someone "standing above us." This takes responsibility and discipline in not letting anyone shepherd us around.
The pressure is difficult. We risk alienating ourselves from friends, family, safety, and a sense of belonging. But if we don't belong to ourselves, we have given over our lives and souls to someone else to be maneuvered at their will.
Of course, for many, this is the safer route. Blend in, don't create waves, ride the worn path, even if it's against what's truly within our hearts. It's understandable that this is often the valued choice. We believe that it is our choice to believe the way we do because we haven't entertained anything else otherwise.
While we abandon ourselves, don't ask hard questions, and resist digging deeper than a few inches below the surface, those who wish to control us and wield their twisted view of power, will win the day.
The more we're able to validate, cherish, and hold our complicated hearts in our own hands, the better we will get at giving and receiving love intentionally.
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Copyright Kimberly Dillon 2023. All Rights Reserved