One day I will make you fork the word feelings, because depending on context, it can be a cop out. Not to say it makes you less right, but feelings are just a MEDIUM, and if somebody has a problem with the CONTENT of your feelings, it’s a bit disingenuous to tell yourself or anybody else that the problem was expressing your feelings.

I was telling my counselor the ‘I am afraid my feelings cause a burden’ story recently, catalyzed by a discussion of vulnerability and trust, and she laughed. She then apologized, but it wasn’t necessary. It was clear she wasn’t laughing at me, or necessarily my plight, but at the irony and absurdness that is self-evident when you hear that story after you already know what happened afterward.

There’s a bit of comfort in that laugh, because I think it’s absurd, but it hurt, and since I tend to give the benefit of the doubt, it’s nice that it is so absurd to her that she can’t not laugh.