Dear Men...
It’s the last day of Men’s Mental Health Month for the year. I wasn’t meaning to write anything until now. But in the last few days, I saw a couple of my closest men break down and open up to me that I wanted to say something to document this moment and this cause.
I am a woman. I cry a lot. I was raised being exposed to a
single male influence a.k.a. my father, no brothers or close male friends till
adulthood so I haven’t really known what bottling up emotions feel like. Now,
that I have grown older, been in close proximity of men with varying heights of
emotional walls, I can safely say that I am exposed enough to give my two cents
on the matter. So here goes…
Dear men of my life (and of the world?),
I am sorry you have always felt the burden of protecting and
providing for the people in your life that you never got to take a second
glance at your own wishes and desires. I am sorry you were raised in a way that
prevented the child in you from fully feeling all the emotions a human can
feel. I am sorry your sadness and pain were socialized to always project as
anger and nobody really saw what was happening behind the scenes. I am sorry
that you still struggle to make yourself known and open up to the people you
love. I am sorry that you don’t get as many hugs or flowers as a human needs to
thrive and feel loved.
But I do hope that you find your people, who see the four-year-old you who was chided for ‘crying like a girl’ when you got hurt. I pray
you find the space to vent your emotions as they are, not in unhealthy,
hurtful forms. I pray that life gives you your tribe who give your soul the
space to shine and feel safe and warm, so that the real you can come out and
breathe…
Love always,
Just another girl in your life…
I thank to god he created you.
ReplyDeleteThank you for being in my life.