Once burned, twice shy

All of us are afraid of getting hurt. It’s a natural reaction to get away from familiar situations that, in the past, caused us pain. We shun similar situations because we don’t want to get hurt anymore.

Loving someone is the best feeling in the world. It makes you feel like superman. Oftentimes than not, this love isn’t reciprocated. It is during these times that we get burned. You put your trust is someone only to get your heart broken in the end. It brings loneliness, despair, anger, and hate. You start questioning yourself, and you have this feeling of hopelessness. When the time comes to pick up the pieces and start over again, you become extra careful. You train yourself to see differences between the past and the present. You try to find that sign or something that may lead you back to getting hurt. We take lesser risks, we over analyze, we become overly cautious, and sometimes we just stay where we are – afraid to move because we might get hurt. Afraid to take risks, and letting opportunities pass.

I am afraid to get burned again. I already got burned many times. Yet against all logic and reason, I still hope. I still risk my heart even though I know it might not work. Why do I fear it too much, even though I already know what to do just in case I get burned again? Rejection is one of the things I am really afraid of. Maybe that’s why I haven’t made any move yet. Maybe that is why I am afraid to jump off this cliff, because there might be no one to catch me at the bottom. It’s going to hurt really bad if I hit the ground. I guess I just want to be sure before I take the plunge. Being sure isn’t bad. It just takes too much time, Time that should be spent on more worthwhile things…like living and getting burned.