3 Inches

David Harbour's Stranger Things character Chief Jim Hopper once said, ~I've been stuck in one place, in a cave you might say, a deep dark cave. And then I left some Eggos out in the woods and you came into my life. I started to feel happy…I don't want things to change…I know that's naïve. It's just now how life works. It's moving, always moving whether you like it or not. And yeah, sometimes it's painful. Sometimes it's sad. And sometimes it's surprising, happy…Make mistakes, learn from them, and when life hurts you – because it will – remember the hurt. The hurt is good. It means you're out of the cave.~ Let me ask you this question in regards to the cave of your heart representing the upside down of utter heartbreak. How long have you been stuck inside not wanting to come out?

Without a doubt, when it comes to the possibility of experiencing true happiness it can most definitely be a scary situation indeed, especially after the pain of past relationships. In a sense, you can/do find yourself inwardly hiding away in your heart within the deep dark cave representing your version of the upside down in order to protect/distance yourself from any kind of feelings whatsoever. Thinking about it further, by distancing/protecting yourself in your own cave from the personal, mental, emotional, and not to mention physical chaotic storm you avoid a far greater impact that ends up devouring/ripping you apart in a monstrous demogorgon/mindflayer kind of way. In other words, not allowing yourself to truly feel to where you would rather embrace the familiarity of darkness instead of the light of the unknown.

As I said before, being able to keep a person you potentially care about and maybe even love at arm's length is an unfortunate way to handle things. For it's a sad state of affairs to have a mindset where there is an attempt in trying to control any changes for the best interest of your own heart. However, what one ends up doing is pushing you to the brink of mental and emotional sanity so much so it causes you to inwardly spiral out of control. Of course, when it happens a plethora of mixed emotions such as anger, fear, worry, depression, desperation, doubt, frustration, confusion, disappointment, contempt, hopelessness, bitterness, are turned to or go way past 11, in a manner of speaking. What it primarily comes down to is gradually accepting those changes knowing you'll experience the pain in hopes of moving out of your internal cave of darkness and stepping into the light.

For the question be asked to those who eventually made the decision to move out from their out quintessential deep dark cave of their own heart, what did you end up leaving out or should I say showing to where that certain someone of interest came along into your life? Granted, it may not necessarily be actually an Eggo but a representation of one that initially started to reveal/leave out endearing, quality aspects of who you are. A quirky sense of humor, a creatively artistic side, adorable geeky/nerdy nature, giving heart, etc. are just a few qualities that are sometimes revealed without even consciously showing them. It shines a bright positive light in your favor to someday catch the eye of a potential future best friend. Hey, the easy part is being seen then and from there focusing on yourself to where your self esteem/worth is strongly built up whereby one's lost smile gradually returns.

In retrospect, being stuck in a perpetual cave of darkness within your own heart because of past painful heartbreak is an unfortunate way of hiding within yourself. Sadly, far too many people would rather stay safe in the uncomfortable comfort of their dark cave and continue hurting than getting out of it to take a risk in order to share what will hopefully start the healing process. Ultimately, there will be a day where you'll have the strength to move forward even though it hurts to do so, meet someone, have the courage to open up, become vulnerable, make mistakes, learn valuable lessons, grow closer in every way possible, and even possibly get to a point where your story of love/true love has a never ending song shared between one another. In the end, never rule out completely closing the door to your heart because the possibilities are endlessly surprising and when/if you do may I happily suggest leaving it open 3 inches.