My indoctrination had sorted me into a belief system that worshiped a patriarchal god whose texts subjugated women, enabling a patriarchal society where that subjugation could continue to varying degrees across the globe. And the funny thing is, for the longest time, I still wanted to believe ...
Sure, it’s easy to love someone when you think they are perfect, when you hold them up on a pedestal and pretend they are everything you need and always wanted. You fell off that pedestal when I was 12, Dad, but I loved you so much, flaws and all, and I still do.
These people won’t tell you the truth no way, no how because they don’t trust you (and that’s because they know you can’t trust them) or because they have too much invested in the opposing perspective. They don’t want to understand you or make allowances or hear explanations.
We continue to want the same thing from this individual, not realizing that after a while, we don’t enjoy it, and maybe we never did, yet we still need it. The moments of comfort and bliss are fleeting. A feeling of emptiness prevails.
As for the whole empath/empathy deal, I can’t speak for all, but I can relay my experience and that of two other people I know... Every incident, regardless of who suffers, has an unshakable impact that stays with us for a lifetime.
The sun was setting, salmon clouds under a sky of Dodger blue, flocks of geese on a sprawling lawn.
A waxing gibbous moon beckoned like she needed a guide, a divine light.