This Is Your Reminder That Your Intensity Is Beautiful

Webster defines the word intense as “existing in an extreme degree”. The sound of this word hitting my ears after it’s been hurled at me from someone else’s lips has always stung. There is always a degree of negativity behind it, as if my intensity is the root cause to all catastrophe.

The truth is, at my core, I am intense. I have been told that even in calming silence, intensity surges from my aura. My blood flow is made up of burning embers and the collective howl of wild green-eyed wolves. I do exist in an extreme degree. I feel everything so deeply, so profoundly, that I have no choice but to let it dance from deep in my belly, out of my eyes, and through my mouth.

The thing is, I am tired of feeling unworthy because of this. I am done suppressing and apologizing and pretending that I don’t feel in big ways, because I do.

To love and feel and dream and work with the entirety of your being does not make you a liability. It makes you fucking indispensable. We need people who see life as a grand adventure and the world as their playground to seek that adventure. We need the people who aren’t afraid to say “I love you” first. If you are the person who sees another broken individual and isn’t afraid to help pick up the shattered pieces of their heart, even though you know you will get cut, you are necessary. If your dreams rival the vastness of space and the force of the moon’s pull, we need you. If you are the type of person who chases down what you want, rolls up your sleeves, and works tirelessly until you run that thing down, you are important.

Intensity is the life blood behind all of these things. It is passion, creativity, and love. It’s being kicked in the face nine times and popping back up the tenth time to say, “Is that all you’ve got?” I will never be the loudest person in the room. In fact, I’m usually the observer. My intensity doesn’t call for me to scream at the top of my lungs, but it does call for me to allow myself to be moved in extreme ways. To bring to life what is on my mind and in my heart and to expose the inner workings of my being to the people I love. It calls for me to think big, dream big, and love bigger. It begs me to do everything with vigor and with the fervor of a wild beast that has finally broken its chains.

I am here to tell you this: If someone wants you to soften your edge and put out the fire or makes you feel silly for having big emotions, then you need to run. Run far and fast, and continue to cultivate that intense energy. If someone can’t handle that power, it’s because they do not have the capacity to understand you or the magic that was stitched into the fabric of your DNA from the beginning of time. They cannot match your intensity for life. Wish them peace, and then move the fuck on and live your wild, ignited life.

You are necessary to this world. The people meant for you, the environments that will hold you, and the work you will do will all reflect this great intensity. Do not settle for anything else. It is not in you to sit still and listen to all the reasons why you are “too much”.

It is in you to exist and act in extreme ways.

You are intense. And what a beautiful thing that is to be.