When Your Authenticity Feels Like a Threat: Staying Open in a World of Projections

I have always embodied the archetype of The Lover. The one who sees beauty in others, who meets the world with an open heart, who offers presence, warmth, and devotion—not just in romance, but in life itself.

And yet, I’ve learned that not everyone knows how to receive The Lover.

Because love in its purest form—unhidden, uncalculated, freely given—can feel unsettling to those who have learned to guard themselves against it.

Not because they don’t want love. But because love, when met with unhealed wounds, can awaken all the places inside that have forgotten how to trust.

When we encounter true authenticity, it calls us into something deeper. And sometimes, that call is uncomfortable.

It’s not that people want to question sincerity—it’s that they have been taught to. The world has shown them masks, half-truths, and hidden motives. So when they meet someone who embodies openness—who isn’t playing a game—it can stir doubt.

“What’s the catch?”

“Is this real?”

“Can I trust this?”

And I understand because I remember my own lived experience of this.

It’s easy to say “just stay authentic,” but the truth is, it can hurt when your love, your presence, your sincerity are met with suspicion.

And yet, this is where the real practice begins.

Not in proving yourself. Not in convincing others. But in honoring your own heart, even when it is misunderstood.

• To stay open, even when it would be easier to close.

• To love yourself so fully that doubt does not shake you.

• To trust that those who are meant to receive you, will.

Not everyone will meet you in the same way you offer yourself to them. That does not mean your love was wasted. That does not mean your authenticity was wrong.

It simply means they are on their own journey. And you? You are on yours.

The greatest gift we can give is to keep loving—without expectation, without defense, without hardening.

Not to be naive. Not to pour endlessly into closed hands. But to remain who we are, even when the world is still learning how to receive us.

And that, more than anything, is what makes The Lover sovereign.

Because love is not about being accepted.

Love is about being true.

And when you hold that truth—softly, steadily, without force—those who are ready will find their way to it.

And those who aren’t? They are still on their way.

In sovereign truth,
Sharon

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