The Tight rope Walk of Being Open-Hearted

I was thinking the other day about how weirdly complicated it is to be a person Specifically how we’re all just out here trying to connect trying to be kind, but also trying desperately not to get our hearts stomped on It keeps reminding me of a conversation I had with a friend She’s one of the most genuinely warm people I know, the type who remembers your coffee order and asks about your dog’s vet appointment. But she told me she’s had to build a careful shell around that warmth Not to diminish it but to protect it.

And isn’t that the truth Being friendly is our default setting it’s the smile at the grocery store the willingness to listen to a new acquaintance the open door for a stranger It’s the belief that most people are operating from a good place That friendliness is a light we can choose to shine and it costs us nothing to be decent But then… life happens, You share something vulnerable with someone who uses it as gossip later you offer trust to someone who treats it carelessly You extend your hand and every once in a while it gets slapped away These moments big and small teach us to be careful.

For a long time I saw this as a contradiction as iWas I supposed to be open or was I supposed to be guarded It felt like I had to choose between being a naive optimist or a jaded skeptic but I’m starting to realize it’s not a choice between one or the other. It’s a dance which is about holding both of those ideas in your hands at once.

Image generated Meta AI