I’m making it my responsibility to bring my most authentic self to every person in my life.
Not just close friends who I know appreciate my particular blend of erudition and poop jokes, but everyone.
I used to be much more transparent. I was an open book willing to reveal my most intimate thoughts and feelings to anyone who asked. And frequently to people who didn’t even ask.
And then through variety of predictable stumbles, I got hurt. My takeaway from these experiences was that I should be/do/say/feel less.
I was profoundly mistaken.
It’s possible I needed to be less for a while so I could focus on growth and healing, but I forgot somewhere along the way that the goal was to feel safe. Safe to be who I am, to say what I think, and to ask for what I want.
I’m out of practice. And oh, does it hurt.
But I feel more myself than I have in many long years and I am reminded of my courage. And I am confident that the right people will always welcome the real, vulnerable, sentimental, and soft-hearted me.
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