Egregoros

to expose one's soul is truly terrifying, many fear the vulnerability it brings, and many fear the risk of another being able to relate to it. when you spend your life convincing yourself that you are alone, that you are an island, a solitary stone standing up against the wind and the rain and the tides, to realize that there are others out there who feel the same as you and that you are not a solitary island but one piece of an archipelago, is a wound that cuts deeper than any hateful comment. for it is a stabbing dagger of kinship that pierces the thorny armor you've built for yourself and reveals the truth, that your armor is a cage, that your shield is a shackle, that your stoic independence is nothing more than a fear of connection.