Maybe I'll have another stab at articulating my thoughts on this.
I've been in this position before, long ago, when I was a weaker person. Hell, I was just a teenager. Someone truly loved me, but my love for them had wilted. I did care for her, but I just didn't really reciprocate the feelings she had for me. Instead of growing some balls and just telling her how I felt, I said nothing and went on with the relationship. It was gutless, and in the end, not saying something sooner had hurt her far more than being up front. I felt nothing but shame over that.
It's a tricky situation. But really, not being honest about how you feel under the pretense of not wanting to hurt them is, in my opinion, simple projection of your own fear and insecurity. That, and it ends up making it far worse in the end.
Being honest with people can hurt them sometimes, that's the nature of truth, a lot of the time we simply don't like it. But at least it's real, at least you know where you stand, and at least you can go to bed at night know you've been true to yourself.
The other thing to consider is, that while they might be hurt you don't reciprocate your feelings for them, they will get over it. Unless they're the bat shit crazy stalkerish types, unfortunately you'll run into the odd one or two.
I think far to many people have a strange Hollywood idea of love where everything works out in the end and it's all peaches and cream. As many of you will all be too painfully aware, it isn't. Love is much like the earth, it can be beautiful and amazing, and it can be cold an unforgiving.
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You are not a slave
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