I am feeling all of this. I admire and appreciate that you're able to articulate it all. It's got me thinking about vulnerability... and how maybe we don't speak love into our public live because it's so much coded as vulnerable/private. Or maybe it's just that it is a real risk to care about something deeply... because then we care when it's lost or gone?
YES, Emily! I'd agree that love is definitely coded as vulnerable/private, in our dominant culture. AND I think you're right, that (especially public) love is a risk that many hesitate to take. Sitting back in sarcasm, pessimism, cynicism and the like tends to be the preferred choice, in my observation. Caring, and/or hoping for the best are coded as naive, weak. Yet, I'd argue that love and hope are actually the most powerful forces we can embody, as long as we fully embody them... and don't hang back, hedging our bets. Wouldn't you?
I am feeling all of this. I admire and appreciate that you're able to articulate it all. It's got me thinking about vulnerability... and how maybe we don't speak love into our public live because it's so much coded as vulnerable/private. Or maybe it's just that it is a real risk to care about something deeply... because then we care when it's lost or gone?
YES, Emily! I'd agree that love is definitely coded as vulnerable/private, in our dominant culture. AND I think you're right, that (especially public) love is a risk that many hesitate to take. Sitting back in sarcasm, pessimism, cynicism and the like tends to be the preferred choice, in my observation. Caring, and/or hoping for the best are coded as naive, weak. Yet, I'd argue that love and hope are actually the most powerful forces we can embody, as long as we fully embody them... and don't hang back, hedging our bets. Wouldn't you?