Eden🕊️

Tenderness is the most modest form of love. […] It appears wherever we take a close and careful look at another being, at something that is not our “self”. Tenderness is spontaneous and disinterested; it goes far beyond empathetic fellow feeling. Instead it is the conscious, though perhaps slightly melancholy, common sharing of fate. Tenderness is deep emotional concern about another being, its fragility, its unique nature, and its lack of immunity to suffering and the effects of time. Tenderness perceives the bonds that connect us, the similarities and sameness between us. It is a way of looking that shows the world as being alive, living, interconnected, cooperating with, and codependent on itself.

Literature is built on tenderness […]. »

Advantageous (2015)| directed by Jennifer Phang & written by Jennifer Phang and Jacqueline Kim

Aren't you happy to see me? I'm so happy that I almost hugged... I mean... I almost did a back flip. Here. How about a high five instead? I have a habit of giving high fives when I'm happy to see someone.

something i’ve been thinking about a lot lately is how men are the protectors in life. and yes, that’s absolutely true in many ways. On the other side, it’s often overlooked how protective women are too.

like, not in the loud or obvious way. but in the quiet, subtle, deeply emotional way.

i’ve realized that as a woman, i’ve always had this instinct to care about the people in my life on a soul-deep level. like, i worry about their choices, their friends, their mental state, their future. i don’t just care about what happens to them—I care about who they become. and that’s a form of protection too.

it’s not just “i want you to be okay,” it’s “i want your soul to be okay. your heart. your spirit. your character.”

women protect through presence. through prayer. through gut feelings and little reminders. through seeing what someone doesn’t even see in themselves and helping them stay grounded.

especially when it comes to children, women protect in such tiny, precious ways. where sometimes a dad might say “let them learn the hard way,” a mom will say “i don’t want them to hurt like that.” and neither is wrong. one is about building strength. the other is about preserving softness.

and the thing is… women care so much about emotional and spiritual safety. we read between the lines of people’s moods. and when we really love someone—friend, man, child—we don’t want them to feel unsafe for even a second.

i think that’s beautiful. It’s even more beautiful when the woman grows into herself and feels peace in providing that safety and protection for the people that she cares about, it’s priceless.

and maybe people don’t always see that kind of protection because it’s not loud or aggressive. it’s gentle. it’s watching over someone silently. it’s feeling someone’s energy shift and doing whatever you can to bring them back to their light. it’s seeing your people get sick and doing all you can to make them feel good again, cooking them soup and massaging their head and hand feeding them meds.