The Hedgehog's Dilemma

Have you heard of the Hedgehog's Dilemma? The closer two hedgehogs get to each other, the more they may hurt each other...

Many times, we can be afraid of opening up and growing close to another person, because we are afraid we will hurt each other eventually... And so we keep our distance...

Yes, it feels so vulnerable after you pour out your heart... But you know what, I refuse to stop pouring out my heart, because that's really the only way to intimacy between individuals... God poured out His everything, and He chose no other way... Yeah, it's hard, but the only way, says Mother Teresa. Now I can at least understand a bit about what Jesus' agony was about... Yes, it was extremely hard, but He knew all along that was the only way...

I haven't told you about the second half of the dilemma: if those two hedgehogs remain apart, then they will each feel the pain of loneliness...

So the question is, will I choose the certainty of loneliness, or the possible pain of closeness? It's hard, but I think I know which one I will choose... because with God, I already made that choice, and I don't regret it any single moment of my life.

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Epilogue:

There's a side of the Dilemma that brings me comfort... that in nature, hedgehogs don't have that dilemma at all, and that they stay close to each other for warmth.