insecurity

Having A Trauma Response To Love (Why Do We Run From What We Desire Most?)

Having A Trauma Response To Love (Why Do We Run From What We Desire Most?)

Nearly one year ago, I approached a lone woman sitting at a table in the restaurant where I work as a waiter. She was waiting for a few friends to join her, and I offered to bring her some water. There was a profound, quiet beauty to this woman that shook me. I felt something far beyond a mere physical attraction to her - I felt some kind of energy radiating from her that might be best described as a pure, quiet, dignified grace.

She was understated, humble, and elegant in our brief interaction, which I walked away from in a state of dizzying euphoria. It is a rare thing for me to feel so moved by a woman’s presence.

What was perhaps even more noteworthy than my instant, full-on infatuation with this attractive stranger, however, was my awareness that everything I was feeling seemed suspicious. Maybe all those months of isolation and introspection had given rise to a new self-awareness, because although I’d felt this kind of reaction in response to women before, I’d never noticed how terrible it felt.

Outgrowing The Need To Be Right - On The Path From Insecurity To Powerful Imperfection

A few months ago, I was deeply immersed in the process of writing (and rewriting) my new book, when a friend asked me if I was finding the creative process itself to be therapeutic.

I hadn’t thought about this, and although I’d written through streams of tears at several points during the preceding months, I wasn’t sure how to answer the question. As I paused and reflected on it, one very notable thing came to mind: During the entire writing process, I was aware of, watching, and unravelling a deeply entrenched habit of mine that has at times been my undoing (both as a writer, and as a man) - the impulse to prove myself. The impulse to prove myself right, better, smarter, more worthy, or in any other way superior to others. There is an insecure part of me that habitually wants to puff out its chest, and either knock others down or build itself up in a rather dubious way, to compensate for its deep sense of unworthiness.