Word Of The Day

SOFTNESS
(noun)

*The quality of being easy to mold, cut, compress, or fold.
*A subtle effect or contrast; lack of sharp definition.

Ah, to be soft... 
I've been told (well, asked) to be softer more than once in my life. It brought up the opposite reaction from me. Hardness within milliseconds, defensiveness, being headstrong. And looking at the definition above, I understand why: the 'lack of sharp definition' is to me the openness to see others through a wider lense, a nuanced, more empatheitc lense. A lense that can be malleable, like clay. A lense that is SOFT. When clay is soft - you can do anything with it. It can be shaped to be of any form. That much openness requires vulnerability and trust. Softness requires courage to be open, to be trusting, to be at the beginner's mind of 'I don't know what is going to happen.'