What a strange creature man is……
One of the most important things to many is that other people think well of us. So in order to help ensure this, we will cover up our struggles so that we appear not to have any…….so that people will think well of us. Essentially, I will act dishonorably by lying to you about who I am so that you will think I’m an honorable person. What a paradox. We will be fake so people will think we are genuinely good……go figure.
One of the interesting aspects of pornography is statistics are pretty consistently showing 60 to 70 percent of men struggle with it. Yet most cover it up. So we have all these people walking around with the same issues, struggles, and insecurities yet they are hiding them, and because they are hiding them, they feel alone.
The fact is we are all human, and being human means that we are more alike than we are different. It means that there are many more people out there who can relate to our struggles than we ever dreamed. When we have the courage to peel back the cover and take off the mask, its amazing the freedom we can experience. Only then can we really know what people think of us because only then do they get to see the real us with which to make that decision. When we are open, others tend to be more open with us. We discover we are not alone, we are not freaks, we are not shameful pieces of crap. We are people, we are human, and we are all struggling with something.
When we feel alone in our struggles it’s hard not to feel amazingly insecure. But when we can freely be real about exactly who and what we are, we can embrace the support and love of those around us who have the courage to do the same and leave behind the chains of our addictions and habits. Sure, some will judge and others will sneer, but they will do so from the shaky ground that exists behind their own cloak of secrets.
Will Hathaway is an Ordained Minister, Author, and served in Law Enforcement as a SWAT Negotiator.
He can be contacted through his website: will-hathaway.com