Arrow-right Camera

Color Scheme

Subscribe now

This column reflects the opinion of the writer. Learn about the differences between a news story and an opinion column.

Dear Kiantha: How to give love when love isn’t your first reaction

Spokane NAACP President Kiantha Duncan, photographed Friday at her home in Spokane Valley, is a 2022 Difference Maker.  (KATHY PLONKA/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIE)

Dear Kiantha,

How do you approach situations with love when love is not the first thing you feel?

Dear Friend,

Imagine waking up in the morning and preparing to go out and about for the day. Maybe heading to work, maybe running errands or meeting with a friend.

When we open our front door, the first thing we see is rain. My question is how would we approach our day when wet is not the first thing we feel or want to feel?

The answer is cautiously. When love is truly our desired outcome, we process through all the other feelings then get to love.

Go back to the moment when we opened our door and there was rain. Although feelings of hesitation may have been our visceral reaction, we immediately create a plan for walking out of the house and staying as dry as possible.

One of our first thoughts may be “I don’t want to get wet”, but after processing that thought we proceed with caution because our desire to get to work, our errand or meeting with you is paramount as that is our desired outcome. Love doesn’t have to be our first thought, but it must become our desired outcome. In every situation, every day.

Love can be scary. After all, when we love we are at our most vulnerable yet rewarding posture.

We should all consider the way in which we want to show up in this world and do so with caution.

Soul to Soul,

Kiantha

Dear Kiantha can be read Fridays in The Spokesman-Review. To read this column in Spanish, visit www.spokesman.com. To submit a question, email DearKiantha@gmail.com.

More from this author