Engagement

It’s easy to establish acquaintances:

People to start up a conversation with in the Starbucks line, but never foster that relationship further.

I think my past can be distinguished by the massive tally of acquaintances versus genuine relationships. I don’t think it’s because I didn’t want to establish relationships further, but rather, because I was afraid to:

- What if this person lets me down?

- What if I get hurt?

Then I realized, no matter how much I guard myself from the enhancement of relationships, I will never be 100% safe from getting hurt – and that’s the way it’s suppose to be!

And so, I sit here physically alone but mentally and emotionally so a part of the people around me. Instead of going through the motions of relationships, I have chosen to engage in them. This idea that used to intimidate me is the one that is lending me the most freedom today:

I am exposed to new perspectives that have given me the capacity to live beyond what I ever imagined for myself. Friendship has been redefined as I actively participate in and care about the lives of people who at once were acquaintances, but now are considered life long friends. Every individual I encounter in my life is an opportunity – to grow, to learn, to love, to support.

Everyone is human, everyone fears being let down and hurt – with that understanding, why waste time sulking on the inherent fears of human nature? I’ve learned that the gratification earned from the establishment of true relationships is so rewarding that the fear of being hurt seems irrelevant at this point.