Passionate Emotions and Strength

  This is something that I have struggled with my entire life. I have always been emotional, and I have always believed (by design) that it was not an honorable thing to "rock the boat". What I have learned about myself, though, is that I am in possession of a very large heart. I have a heart that loves deeply, feels deeply, and is hurt easily. It is not easy for me to hold it all in. I also had a long hard history of trusting without a second thought. I was trusting to the point of gullibility. It was a painful lesson that gave me an extremely thick skin, though anyone who can relate to this problem would understand, I can still be hurt... easily and terribly.

I have recently learned in therapy that people think that the opposite of happiness is anger, but it is not. It is indifference. I feel passionate about those I love. My heart is an ocean deeper and more vast than any made of water. I have more love and passion than I can ever express. There are times when I want to let them loose, but I'm afraid that if I did... I would never be able to contain them again. I would be burned alive by their force. I've learned hard lessons, and because of that I still struggle to show them. I have gone too far the other way now. My emotions still frighten me, but I am learning, and I am praying for help to be able to share that side of myself more easily to those in my family who deserve to receive it. I try to imagine what I could do with such powerful passion, but to be honest... it still scares me. I need to work on that. I am was created by God, and if he made me this way... there must be a purpose to it.

  I have faced tremendous loss, loss of innocence, loss of three of my children, and loss of friendship. Those types of losses can be difficult to overcome and even more difficult to recover from. I have an incredible amount of love. I have an incredible amount of faith. I have an incredible amount of devotion to my family and those I care about, even if they do not return it. I have lived a hard and troubled life and came around to the other side. I am stronger, but I am still afraid of opening my heart completely. Pandora's got nothing on me. Obviously, I still have work to do, but a place of compassion and empathy is my home. It saddens me that the world is so cynical. I am saddened by the closed minded attitudes of intolerance and judgment that are wielded like weapons in society.  I pray that I can teach my children to think differently than the rest of the world. I hope that my heart will get the chance to change the lives of those I come into contact with. My heart aches for those who get no compassion in this world, especially from those who are supposed to love you the most... family.  I pray that prayer will continue to change lives through compassion and love.  

So my thoughts... if you are emotional, but believe that you are a good person at heart, despite what others might feel about you, I ask that you figure out what it is about you that makes you worth knowing, and allow your talents, love, and passion shine forth to change the world. You have nothing to be ashamed of, and if you struggle like I do. Keep praying, and get help. Therapy is changing the way I see myself, my thoughts, my experiences, and life's purpose. Live, laugh, love, and don't be ashamed. Find strength in yourself, and let your wings spread and soar. You are a child of God, and he made you know what you are capable of. Figure out how to believe in him and yourself and above all... do not let anyone convince you that you are less than.