We disappoint

Self-reliance is a gift we give ourselves to combat the tendency that humans have to disappoint. We are all hurting in our own little ways and our attempts at self protection can produce the result of keeping others at bay. When someone is doing this they will be less likely to be open and giving of themselves.

It is in realizing the weakness in others and my own, that I am at once more forgiving but also more wary of how unreliable and volatile people can be. After all, the human animal is first and foremost emotional before it is rational.

Therefore, it is in self sufficiency that I have learned to place my solid footing over the years while working on forgiving those who stumble and disappoint me with the foibles of their basic humanity. For I even disappoint myself.