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Which do you think you are more often, the protector or the protected?

Don't think there's any kind of gender-card you can play here. It has nothing to do with being a guy or a girl, but entirely what type of person you are. First think about which one you would rather be, then which one you probably are.

Now me, I'd rather be the protector more often. There's something so noble in it, the gentleness and the strength inherent, like a white knight. But I look back on my life and see how sheltered it is and think I'm more like the boldest sheep than the shepherd. I'm motherly, yes, but as a friend of mine asserted just yesterday, a lot of people, once they grow past their own innocence, feel the urge to protect and shield Mom from problems, both in their own lives and in the world at large.

So I'm not sure what that makes me. :) It's not all bad to be the protected, with the inherent safety that this usually entails, to know someone's there for you any time, and not have to worry about everything all the time because sometimes, just sometimes, someone's "I'll take care of you" is there to rock you to sleep. It does mean some naivet� at times, and the feeling that you're sometimes stifled by other people thinking they know what best for you, but then if anyone truly wanted to be protected their entire life I'd wonder what's wrong with them.

It's also not all bad to be the protector, though. You can keep those you love from harm. You can be the hero. The role model. The rock to lean on. Your strength will sustain you and others. But that also means that sometimes, when you need a shoulder to cry on, you might be alone. I often feel that I'm so busy taking care of other people, I have no one stronger to turn to and fall on.

Search through your life. Find the people you protect, as well as the people that protect you. Seek out those who trade places with you occasionally, because those are the strongest bonds of all.

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