28: Trust is not a Weakness

Image by vagawi  via Flickr

I would think that trusting people is difficult. We are surrounded by people in this world who are cruel and liars. It’s hard for many to open up and leave behind the shields and armor that protect their hearts. I personally find it difficult to trust at first.

That’s not to say that I don’t trust others because I certainly do. Trusting is hard. It leaves you open to be disappointed. You trust others to always be there for you, to follow through on a promise, to be a friend. That trust can make you strong as well as break you down.

Trusting is hard for me because I know not everyone that I trust will always be there for me. It’s truly impossible for things to last forever. It’s impossible for situations to not change. It can’t always have the same variables because they are variables. Everything changes. People are busy, they have priorities, sometimes things are impossible and can’t happen. People leave, people die. Everything changes.

We depend on people. We trust them and that leaves us open for pain. Depending on others is a weakness but it is actually a strength. Trust is a strength. It’s almost impossible not to trust in life. Even if you think you don’t you still trust people to not be trustworthy and that is a strength as well.

We need to have faith in people because how can we live if we don’t? We need to trust and have faith in something even if it is nothing that is still something to our heart.

Blind trust, blind faith is weakness, but if those feelings are true? If they have merit and reason and love then we can have hope. Hope is what keeps us going.

People are awful and can betray trust but that doesn’t mean we are weak if we continue to trust. If we cease to trust then we cease to live.

Hope stems from trust and faith in people. Hope is what links us together and gives us strength. If we can trust people to do small things then together we become strong and can create ripples in the world.

That is my hope and my strength. I will continue to trust because I am strong.

Trusting gives us strength.

14: Floating Flying Feathers

Image by Marius Waldal via Flickr

Feathers are amazing are they not? Just thinking of how interesting and amazing they are makes me happy. The softness and fuzzy feeling of a feather makes me so very happy.

It’s silly to think about but I love feathers. I love the way they float in the sky and the feeling they create. It sort of feels like they are free and happy little objects. Yeah, I know it’s weird to think that feathers are “happy” but don’t they look like that to you?

Sometimes I wish I could be covered in soft feathers. I want the security feeling of softness and the ticklish itch it can create with a touch. I want to fly like birds do with their feathers and wings. Wings would be very cool but I don’t think I would be able to fly with just wings and they would get in the way. My bones are just too dense so they wouldn’t be useful.

But a girl can dream.

I wish I could fly like that feather and be taken away by the wind sometimes. I wish I could float happily in the sunset as a beautiful soft feather making other people happy.

Haven’t you seen a feather and just become happy? I have. It’s a wonderful feeling to feel elated just by watching a feather float around.

Feathers seem so gentle and fragile but they can be strong when they work together with other feathers. It’s quite amazing. It’s like people. We seem so vulnerable and weak but when we work together we can somehow do amazing things.

Yeah, sometimes being like a feather would be nice. I’d like to think that it would though. Sometimes not being in control and flowing with the wind seems like an easy way to live. Being something useful and beautiful, well appreciated, it seems nice to simply be a happy object floating in the wind taken away without a care in the world.

On the other hand I could never stand to be a feather. I’m just not that kind of person. I firmly believe that I make the decisions in my life. I feel with all my heart that I am the way I am because of my choice. I could never be ignorant and not have a care. I could never freely float around happily all my days making people happy with my presence. I am just not capable of doing something like that.

It is incompatible with my personality.

I’m not a feather but I do like to admire them. I am not so silly as to truly wish to be like a feather because I am glad to be who I am. So I’ll never be a feather.

I’ll never be a feather but I do very much love them and their innocent like grace.

10: Smiles are Contagious

Image via Wikipedia

Isn’t smiling great? Smiling is very important and when you’re sad, a smile from a friend is everything. We use smiles to put people at ease, make a good impression and simply to show our happiness. How is it that something so small as a smile is capable of changing your day?

A smile is special and so very useful. It can express your happiness in a way that words cannot. Just getting a friend or a special person to smile can be the whole point of your day. And when you smile that transfers over to a friend or loved one so easily that they couldn’t possibly not smile back. It can be oh so very contagious, much like a good laugh. When you really care, something as small as a smile can mean so much.

That simple upturn of your lips can be a mask to hide behind as well. When you want to hide your pain and sadness a smile, while now not contagious, can keep people at bay. It hurts to be sad all the time and it’s hard to be around friends when you can be a little depressed but sometimes a smile to cover that up, no matter how difficult it is to do or how unconvincing it is, is all that you can do. It is something to hide behind, something to give to people instead of sad expressions or tears. Even if it doesn’t work it is at least something.

All we want to do is be happy right?

Smiles make people happy. Smile. Smile. Smile. Just writing this makes me smile.

If I can make people smile just by writing and sharing then I think I’ll have to do it more often.

Do what makes you happy and if you get the chance smile, smile for other people so that they too may in turn smile back.

Keep smiling.

8: Locked Doors

Image by m thierry via Flickr

Locked doors. Are they not curious? I mean when you see something that’s locked are you not a little bit curious as to whats behind it?

When you’re little, girls especially, have these diaries with locks on them with cute little pictures and rainbow-colored paper. They were fun and interesting but hard to keep up with, at least it was for me. I was looking through one of mine the other day and well, I realize that they were pretty lame. It’s hard to realize how silly and unimportant the things in your life was back then. Even only a year ago, something you thought that was important feels pretty insignificant now.

We lock things because we find them important enough to hide. Maybe its to keep out of our own temptation or maybe the temptation of others, but what ever the reason there are locks out there.

Sometimes we want to hide things but other times people use locks to protect whats precious to them too. Feelings and thoughts that are for one person alone, those are important and priceless sometimes. Those feelings can be embarrassing and are private, no one wants to be revealed.

Things that are locked inside of us are harder to open. You can’t force open those inner locks. Keys for something like that are even harder to find and harder to use.

Secrets and hidden things are important for people. It gives them a sense of security with themself. Nobody want’s to be figured out so easily, nobody want’s to be vulnerable.

It’s hard to open up and trust. It’s hard to take off a lock and hope that a closed-door is enough for people. It’s hard to trust someone with a key and hope that they don’t misuse it. Trusting is difficult. It takes time to feel comfortable with it.

Maybe I have too many locks but I hope that’s understandable. It’s not a big deal is it? To want to protect myself? Sometimes I don’t pay attention and forget. It can be frightening to look up and realize someone easily got through.

You curse yourself for your silliness and then the person has to start all over again.

I’m sorry person.

Some people are guarded like me. Give them a chance. It takes time. When they pull away, they don’t really mean it to be harsh. They are just hiding because they are scared.

We are all really just scared.