Closeness

I was sharing a story with my family today about porcupines. It was the dead of winter, and a cluster of porcupines were shivering. they were trying to figure out a way to stay warm. one porcupine said, "Let's huddle together and use our body heat to keep us warm." The others thought that was a great idea; however, they noticed that as they drew their bodies closer together, they experienced great agony. Their quills pierced into each other's flesh. The porcupines shrieked and proceeded to move away from each other. Then they started to become cold again. In an attempt of desperation, they maneuvered their bodies in order to avoid being pierced by their neighbor's quills. At last, they found an adequate distance in which they could enjoy the heat from each other's bodies without experiencing the painful pokes from the quills. 

When we open our hearts and minds in order to become closer, we are taking a great risk. Their is a good chance that we will get hurt in the process as well as hurting those closest to us. Our greatest strength comes from learning to work together and to love each other in good times as well as hard times.