Tensions in caring relationships can crop up. With me, there was always the worry of Valentine's Day--would people be threatened by me if I wished them love and happiness? Was there too much awkwardness in my behavior, or too much warmth, towards those for whom I felt secret affections? And what about that feeling of lonliness when you realize that everyone has these fears, and those prevent the shy from enjoying the scent of roses come the 14th?
I have set up my defenses, after gaining forgiveness for myself and for others. While I want to be wary of the future, alienation threatens if I make my distance too large. Time to tiptoe through the situation, tenderly, gently, as through a field of frozen flowers...