Thursday, April 29, 2010

Superficial

I'm at a point in my life where I am working on letting things bother me less.  I tend to be concerned with other's opinions of me, which is not entirely bad, but when it is the the extent that I am constantly adjusting my actions to please or not offend someone, simply to gain approval, then it can be detrimental.  And less than genuine.

A long time ago, I had a friend.  Some things happened that caused me to considered said friendship and wonder if it was a one sided thing.  So, I put it to the test.  What I discovered was that it was one sided, and that I was not being myself.  Once I started pursuing my goals, doing what I wanted to, following my dreams,  the friendship fizzled.  I guess the individual didn't like who I really was, and didn't approve of what I was doing.   My plans didn't include them as much as they used to, and I was getting along fine.

People are funny like that.  Some have expectations for me, that I will never live up to.  They expect me to walk, talk, or even write a certain way.  They want me to stay inside the lines, to keep up with the joneses, and to fit the image!  

I've been down that road, and it wasn't fun.  I was created to be who I am, and to live in freedom, not to be chained down by other people's unrealistic expectations.  One I started to break free from that, it was liberating.  The world became big again, kind of like when I was a kid, and the possibilities became limitless. 

If you are bound,  break free.  It is that simple.  Stand up for yourself, and do what you want to do, and if  some relationships fizzle along the way,  maybe they were more in  the superficial/ one sided category.   It happened to me, and I have developed deeper stronger relationships with others across the country. 

But don't get me wrong, I'm not bitter,  really.  I was for a long time, but then I realized that that took too much energy.  If anyone shows up on my doorstep and needs " a drink of water", I'll definitely share with them. 

Have a great day

1 comment:

Chris said...

Dang. I think you and I are living parallel lives.

"They want me to stay inside the lines, to keep up with the joneses, and to fit the image!"

... fit "THEIR" image!