We are afraid to care because caring means putting our hearts on the line.
And the concept of letting others affect us deeply is terrifying.
By
Updated 5 years ago,June 20, 2020
We are the generation that fears feeling too much.
Brooke Cagle
We are afraid of caring.
We pretend to be okay with hook ups when we really want something real.
We are afraid to show people that we care.
We are afraid that caring will scare them away.
So we venture to keep everything on the surface.
We keep our options open.
We have a go at play itcool.
We worry that caring too much will overwhelm them.
That caring too much will be a burden, that it will be overpowering and will scare them away.
And we fear that if they do leave us, we wont be able to cope in the aftermath.
We wont be able to handle the riptides of feelings that will overcome us.
We are afraid to care because caring means putting our hearts on the line.
And the concept of letting others affect us deeply is terrifying.
We are afraid of falling deeply in love with someone who may never love us back.
So we dont tell them.
We hold it in our chest and wish we had the courage to wear our hearts on our sleeves.
And we feel defeated.
We wish we didnt care so much.
We wish we hadnt invested our hearts into something so transitory and instead played it safe.
We feel as though we wasted our love on someone who didnt care about us.
But caring about them was never a character flaw or a weakness.
Caring deeply didnt imply that we did something wrong or that we need to beat ourselves up over it.
Because caring deeply is never a sin.
Caring deeply is never something to feel embarrassed about.
Just because someone couldnt reciprocate our feelings doesnt mean we never should have cared about them.
It doesnt mean we were wrong in caring about them.
It just means that we shared a piece of our heart with someone who wasnt ready for it.
And we are brave for doing so.
And when it doesnt work out, we dont have to hide our pain.
We dont have to pretend that we are fine or that we dont care.
Its okay to cry in public at a coffee shop.
Its okay to feel heartbroken and to send an accidental drunk text.
Because its okay to care.
Its okay to wear our hearts on our sleeves.
Its okay to fall for someone who is unable to fall for us.
Because it shows that we are able to care deeply.
That we are able to fall hard.
We will be stronger.
They wont back away when we cry about something that we dont have the words to explain.
They will wipe away our tears and stay by our side.
They wont mind that we are too emotional or that we love with our full hearts.
They wont mind how much we care about them because they will care for us in the same way.
And to find irreplaceable love, we have to have the courage to care.
We have to be brave enough to show up.
We have to open our hearts up, even with the knowledge that we might get hurt.
Because love is precious and life is precious.
And caring for another person is one of the most beautiful things we can do in our time here.
