The World Is Starved Of Tenderness

13 Mar, 2026

If there is one thing that can make someone lose their mind emotionally, weaken their knees, and open their heart to you, it is tenderness. Some people are so deprived of it that even a hint of it makes them lose all their tact.

The empathy we feel for others is often the empathy we wish someone had shown to us. The pain we feel when we witness another’s suffering is often the echo of our own wounds. And so it’s better to err on the side of kindness.

The need for tenderness may appear to be isolated to one or two instances, but it often spills into other areas of life too. Boys usually grow up without any real understanding of their emotional side. Some of this happens for practical reasons, as they are expected to prepare for a cruel world. But as children, they should not be made to feel embarrassed for having emotions.

So when you see a man becoming inexplicably and emotionally close to a woman, it is often because of that missing bond of tenderness. A boy who was never shown kindness grows into a man who believes it does not exist. Then he meets someone who treats him with gentleness, as if he is delicate, as if he deserves not to be hurt.

The emotional unraveling he experiences at that moment cannot easily be confined to words like “romance” or “affair.” For him, it becomes something sacred. No matter how much he tries to run away from it, he cannot, because deep down he longs to be treated with tenderness.

I used the example of a man and a woman because two men rarely express gentleness toward each other. That would feel like the antithesis of male friendship. That is why feminine women make the world so beautiful. They become the reason for someone’s better life.

Among the two genders, only one seems naturally inclined to project tenderness outward. It is a shame that the feminine and beautiful side of women is being overshadowed by increasingly vulgar social trends.

Many times you will see women facing a similar predicament. They live closer to their emotions, yet they too need someone who treats them with kindness, with a gentle smile instead of punishing them for their questions and mistakes.

The world is filled with people utterly devoid of tenderness. They hurt others because they themselves were hurt. They were taught that kindness is foolishness. This chain must be broken. And all good things should begin at home.