🪶 Growing a Cactus of Words — The True Warmth Hidden Behind the Thorns | Creative Essay #111

I think Tuesday dusk is the time of the week when 'verbal thorns' are most likely to prick.

The cold remark added to a work email, or the inorganic sarcasm drifting on the waves of social media. As I continued to be bathed in these, before I knew it, words with sharp thorns began to spill from my own mouth as well.

One day, I happened to look at my desk and saw a small, unfamiliar cactus sprouting.

As I watched it with curiosity, every time I said something sarcastic to someone, the cactus's thorns grew harder and sharper. It was a terribly awkward plant, as if the fraying of my heart had taken shape.

Thinking it was a nuisance, I tried to pull it out, but a sharp pain shot through my fingertip.

At that moment, I suddenly realized. These thorns were not there to hurt anyone. They were a clumsy armor to protect my 'true feelings,' which were still soft and fragile, hidden deep behind these thorns.

I decided to water the cactus.

I made a conscious effort to say words with a little bit of warmth, like 'Good work' or 'Thank you.' Then, the thorns that had been so sharp gradually became rounded, changing into a soft, downy texture.

I cannot become a perfect human being. There are nights when I have to bristle with thorns to protect myself.

However, when I acknowledged my own weakness at the base of those thorns, a small, yellow flower bloomed at the top of the cactus.

Tuesday night. If there are thorns stuck in your heart, it is proof that you have been trying your best to protect yourself.

Perhaps it is okay to gently embrace your thorn-covered self just as you are, at least for tonight.

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