Telling people you love them can be the hardest thing. But why? The feelings are real, but there’s sometimes a moment of hesitation.
And why? Maybe because those kind of statements make someone vulnerable. Telling someone you love them makes you vulnerable.
Love is a hard emotion and it’s an emotion that opens you up. It is easier to deny feelings and not tell people how you feel. It’s hardest to tell people you love them, to open yourself up, because we’ve learned that those statements can lead to pain and rejection.
Love can lead to pain, and even though there’s not that much chance of rejection, it can still be painful. You could realize that the feelings you have are not on the same level as their feelings for you, and that hurts.
It is harder to love, you need to accept people, see their mistakes, forgive them, love them. It’s easier to just never forgive, and harder to forgive, knowing the past pain, and the possibility for future pain. Even more, that first pain, that first burn, hurts. Afterwards, perhaps it hurts more, knowing that you fell for it or got yourself into a situation where it could happen again. Trusting afterwards is even harder.
It’s harder to live with an open hand, then a closed fist.