fierce (fɪərs)
adjective.
Is being fierce good or bad?
The dictionary is full of ambiguous words, equivocal constructs with dubious meanings that make it hard for us to decide whether we’re on the good or the bad side. But so is life, isn’t it? Dual, multivocal, blurry.
Do you remember I said “pride” could be a double-edged word? Well, it happens that it’s not the only one. I’ve recently heard someone saying no person is fully good nor fully bad, and I start to believe the same applies to words. And you know what? Translations suck because they’re usually one-sided and never fully convey the whole meaning of the original word.
You can be fierce as a wild beast, ferociously hunting your prey, savagely attacking it and violently eating it.
You can be fierce as a turbulent storm, arriving sudden and unexpected to destroy whichever gets in its way.
Or…
You can be fierce as a vigorous tree, eagerly facing whatever comes. Sometimes standing strong and tall through the storm, other times bending wisely through the wind.
Being fierce is never a choice, you just have to. But making it good or bad is.
Be fierce, always. But be wise, too.