So I hate to break it to you, but I’ve never actually hugged a porcupine.
But in this metaphor, I have.
I think you’ll vibe with this one big time.
Relationships are complicated.
Friendships, romantic relationships, developing relationships…and pretty much any type of relationship between two people out there in this world.
People are messy, life gets incredibly messy, and the fact that we can get along with all of the crazy things going on in our world is an absolute miracle.
Then throw in people’s past experiences into the pot with a dash of ego and we have even more of a miracle that we can get along.
But there’s something really to be said about “being there” for people despite all of the complexities of life. There’s something to be said for being someone’s rock when everything seems to be falling apart around them.
We all want someone to put our back up against when times get tough.
The reality is, we actually all really need that person in our life. We need someone to talk to, to express our deepest fears and our greatest wishes, our worries, doubts, fears, insecurities and everything else in between.
But it takes vulnerability.
It takes breaking down those walls in front of someone else and being able to show them exactly who you are. You don’t censor it. You don’t hide parts. You just go…this is exactly who I am.
The beautiful part of all of this?
You give someone the opportunity to love you just the way you are and just the way you aren’t.
You become imperfectly perfect to them and they love you to death for knowing all of those flaws you’ve so desperately tried to hide from the world.
In the end, people, down to their core, just really want to know that they matter.
They want to feel like they are important to someone. They want to be the reason someone smiles or be the person who is on someone else’s mind. We all, deep down, are thirsting for a love that seems to be harder and harder to come by these days.
So when people out there in the world are really hurting, when they are suffering, when they are emotional and in pain and may seem a bit prickly like a porcupine…
Hug them.
Nourish them.
Love them.
Take care of them.
Break down their walls and barriers if they don’t have the courage to do it themselves. Stand right in front of them and say, “I love you exactly the way you are…no matter what version that may be right now. I’m right here.”
That’s true love.
That’s not asking someone to be anything but who they are.
That’s how we all deserve to be loved.
That’s how we all can love.
That’s what magic is made out of.
Action Steps For Today
Intention: To give that good juicy magic type of love
Practice: Loving Your List
Today, call, write, text, send a passenger pigeon or an owl, write it in the sky…ok this is getting ridiculous…back to the practice…take the opportunity to reach out to at least 3 people in your life who are incredibly special to you and tell them that you care about them. But to take it a step further, tell them exactly why you love and adore them. As we all know, the “why” is incredibly important. Throw your heart into this one today.
PS. If you’re feeling a bit “stuck” in life right now and looking for some help in navigating through your challenges, here at the 7 ways I can help you as a life coach www.1on1withevan.com