I'd like to tell you a story about a young leech named Joey. But before we begin, I'd like to ask you a question; Do you know what a leech is?  When most of us think of a leech, it conjures up images of a repulsive, revolting, hideous blood thirsty, blood sucking worm that's fat and bloated gorging on the blood of other creatures and spreads horrible diseases.

But that's not true. In fact, the truth of the matter is, leeches are not dangerous, they do not cause serious harm to people or animals, they do not drink much blood and they do not spread diseases. Leeches can live in the water or on land, they need blood to grow and to reproduce, they often feed on fish, frogs and birds, but if they get the chance they will feed on people and other animals.

They do not cause pain when they bite, you may not even know that a leech is feeding on you, as they often choose places that are hard to find. They can feed for up to two or three hours, fortunately for us, we all have blood to spare. A leech is a parasite, a parasite is a group of animals that lives on in other animals and  feed on their blood. Other parasites are mosquitoes, lice, ticks vampire bats, some species of worms and even some kinds of fish.

Many would consider them an annoying pest, but did you know that they have been used for thousands of years to treat diseases? They are sometimes used to help improve blood circulation in the skin and to reduce the chance of blood clotting that can be dangerous in some sick people. They even make artificial versions of the chemical that leeches used to prevent blood clots.

Joey's parents never spent much time with their children, they were too busy and too preoccupied with their jobs and careers, working hard trying to earn enough to buy the luxuries and the comforts they wanted and felt they needed. At the end of the day, when they got home, there was very little time for their children, they were always too exhausted and wanted to relax and enjoy themselves. It was everyone for themselves, sink or swim.

Their parent's felt that they were doing the best that they could, after all, that's the way their parent's had raised them. When they were growing up they had to practically raise themselves. Their parents were hardly ever around, and when they were around, the children got very little time or attention. Joey's parent's were repeating the same unbroken cycle and pattern of neglect, that had been passed down from one generation to the next. They were passing on to their children, the same lessons they had been taught by their parents, that as long as they were providing the things that their children needed, that is what it takes to be good and responsible parents. 

What some parent's  failed to realize, is that their children have other needs that were just as vital and crucial to their health and development as the physical things they provided. They need to be nurtured and feed emotionally. They have an emotional hunger that requires just as much time, dedication and energy as their physical needs.

I am sorry to disappoint you, but this is not one of those stories that has a fairytale ending, where everyone lives happily forever after. How this story and how your story ends is up to you, and how hard you are willing to work and how much time you are willing to invest in building relationships, no matter what kind of a start you got in life.

Now that you know the real story about leeches, why don't we get back to Joey's story. Joey was a the runt in his family. A runt means that he was the smallest and the weakest one in his family, which meant that he got picked on and teased a lot. His brothers and sisters were always making fun of him and pushing him around, they called him names like shrimp and peewee which made Little Joey feel extremely sad and terrible.

Everyone made him feel like a loser, Little Joey was always sad and depressed. He was always alone, he had no friends and no faith or confidence in himself. He kept to himself, he felt very uncomfortable and nervous around other people. Because of the way everyone treated him, little Joey had very low self-esteem, he felt worthless, like the scum of the earth. Maybe no one loved him because he didn't just deserve to be loved.

His parent's never showed much affection to their children, they never hugged him or told them him that they loved them. Their children got almost no encouragement and support, from their parent's. They never complimented them or told them that they were proud of them, the only time they ever showed any emotions was when they were angry or upset, and they were yelling and screaming at them.

Because his family was never very supportive or nurturing, Joey had to learn how to fend and care for himself the best way he knew how. What he didn't know, he had to figure out through trial and error, he learned on the fly as they say. But that, some times resulted in some very painful lessons. His inexperience and lack of knowledge often betrayed him, and sometimes got him into serious trouble. Which is all to often the fate of children who has everything, but is neglected and deprived of love.

When a child is emotionally neglected and deprived, it is not something that just fades and goes away with time, and it is not something that they will easily out grow, it often lingers and affects them for years to come. It can cause serious emotional trauma and damage that they may carry with them into adulthood. 

Because Joey had been deprived of love and affection when he was young, he grew up with an empty heart, his heart was always aching and starving for love and affection. And since he never found it at home, he begin searching for love elsewhere. As he grew older, his craving for love became even more intense, so he set his heart on finding the love and affection that was denied him as a child. But at times, in his desperate attempts to find the love his heart ached and longed for, he ended up making some very poor choices that sometimes hurt him and others. 

Joey was so determined and intent on finding the love that he felt was missing in his life, that sometimes he would allowed his heart, his emotions and his passions to override good judgement. He didn't always think about the consequences of his choices, the only thing he thought about in that moment, was trying to fill the emptiness in his heart.

At times, instead of finding the love that he badly yearned for, he only found grief and more pain. It made him feel even worst. He felt worthless, ashamed and embarrassed, he begin to hate himself. He felt like he had let himself down and everyone around him, he felt like a real loser, It seemed like, he couldn't do anything right.

In his quest to find love and fill the emptiness he felt inside, Joey would attach himself to any creature that came along, it didn't matter if it was a frog, a bird,

a snake, a lizard or a human. No matter what he did to try and satisfy his craving for love he always ended up disappointed.

One day a rabbit came to the edge of the water to drink, Joey latched on to it, maybe this is the creature that will fill the emptiness inside me, it turned out to be yet another disappointment.

The next day he latched on to a squirrel, then to a skunk, then to a butterfly, and as usual, just like all the other times, it turned out to be a huge disappointment. Joey begin to think that maybe it's hopeless, maybe there is no one out there who will love him and accept him for who he is. He begin to accept the fact that he would probably die alone with an empty broken heart. Even though he was convinced that he would never experience love, he still held onto the tiniest sliver of hope that maybe someday, if someone ever took the time to get to know him and see his heart, they will be able to love a even a leech like him. 

Joey the leech searches for love

               and acceptance