Like a cactus, we are often prickly on the outside and soft on the inside.

Edward Abbey, one of my favorite Nature writers, had a nickname: "Cactus Ed."  Although he liked to say and write provocative things that sometimes made people angry, he had a very soft heart. Inside, Abbey was quite sensitive both to the negative attitudes and actions of other people towards him AND to the heartbreaking beauty of the redrock canyon country of the Four Corners area.  In fact, it was this sensitivity that makes his written descriptions of the area so powerful.

Abbey's nickname is a powerful reminder that whenever we encounter someone who appears prickly on the outside, they are usually protecting a vulnerable inner disposition, a soft heart that is actually quite affected by criticism or slight.  Hopefully, others will remember this principle as well when WE ourselves become frustrating and difficult to live with.

Photo: Prickly-pear cactus, looking toward the edge of the High Park Burn; Reservoir Ridge Natural Area, near Fort Collins, CO; October 9, 2012