Not to scream.
Soft is not the opposite of strong. It is the opposite of hard, of tough, of rigid, of rough.
Soft is not the same as weak. It is flexible, it yields, it sways, it is smooth.
There is strength in softness. A type of strength that allows for movement, for consideration and negotiation. A type of strength that feels like love.
Our sensitive children, our sensitive souls, need this kind of strength in their lives. Need us to show them that it exists to support them and that it is possible to cultivate in them.
They will have no shortage of the other side of softness in their lives, in this world. They will know very well and very early how that all works, how it feels and what it demands of them.
They will know the reality of the world and still they will need us to remain the soft kind of strong for them. To nurture and protect the softness in us so that we can connect with them as strength beside them rather than power over them.
The nurturing requires listening to, the protecting requires communicating. We learn to listen, so to speak. So that the softness in us can show up as strength, so that we can speak up in our soft but steady voices at tables made of granite, in conversations where it feels almost impossible not the scream.
