Unconditional
“You don’t want me to follow you into fire, don’t run into fire”,
Anna says to Elsa.
Now that’s the kind of love
we are in search of.
Someone to walk with us through the flames.
Someone to help us burden this pain.
I know our tolerance is not the same,
but that’s why I need you.
You’ll be strong enough to carry me,
when the smoke gets too thick
to breathe through.
1/24/2020
In some ways, it’s a good thing that we have people in our lives who think differently, who may not fully understand our experiences. The beautiful thing about it is, if they are at the point where they can empathize with us, they will be strong enough to help us during difficult times. When certain world/life events become too much for us to handle, it won’t be too much for them. As they are likely not to be as vulnerable to the same things that we are. I love how in Frozen, Elsa is the one with magical powers, yet Anna kept saving her. Even though Anna could never fully understand the struggles that Elsa was facing, she was always willing to help her fight her battles. Anna always managed to have just enough strength during Elsa’s moments of weakness.
It saddens me to see friends and family withdraw their emotional support from a loved one due to a lack of ability to empathize with them. It saddens me to see that those people don’t understand how much of a source of strength they could be for us during difficult times. It saddens me to see how their withdrawal of support eventually adds to our hardship. I think my wife explains the absence well by saying, “When they refuse to walk with us through the fire, they become the fire”.