For the longest time, I felt the need to explain and re-explain myself in many creative ways in hopes of being understood. I went as far as feeling responsible for people misunderstanding me, then a moment of clarity occurred.
I concluded that some people in our lives will always believe what they want to believe and are committed to misunderstanding us. Now, this takes a level of self-awareness, maturity and depth of healing to accept the notion. It's also a hard pill to swallow but a necessary one.
Another light went off, and I realized that their lack of understanding has nothing to do with me or you, but everything to do with their commitment to seeing things through a restricted lens with a partial perspective. It's not us; it's them! Literally!
See, as we grow, be it intellectually or spiritually, we begin to move differently. Sometimes our circles change, the books we read and music we listen to shifts. The conversations we have hit us differently and the things that inspire us are on a new level altogether.
We step into old spaces, and the vibe is different and believe me, there is nothing wrong with that. In fact, I encourage no longer fitting into old spaces because it's a level of freedom everyone should experience at some point in their lives.
Unfortunately, as we celebrate taking up different spaces, there are people in our lives who want to force us back into the moulds of yesteryear. They want to put us back in the same box in which they met us.
They are the ones who continually say, "you've changed," or "you don't do this or that anymore" They are the ones who won't admit it but are perfectly happy seeing us stagnant, just like them. And no matter how many times you try to explain, they don't or choose not to understand.
When I cared about being understood, I always wanted to paint a picture that people would comprehend. But now that I no longer care about being understood, I can sashay away after saying these five simple words.
"I haven't changed; I've elevated!"
The intent of this declaration is not to hurt, confuse or even be pompous. It just is what it is!
And even those who are eternally committed to misunderstanding us will have no other choice but to accept the declaration for the screaming truth that rests between the lines.
As we all move towards healing, living our truth, and elevating, let's keep a few things in remembrance. Stand firm in refusing to live someone's idea of who you should be. We don't need to explain a changed mind. We don't need to explain our very existence. We don't need to explain why we don't laugh at the same jokes or read the same books. Hell, we don't need to explain why we changed our hairstyles.
All we need to do is decide to do it, become one with our decision and live our lives with purpose.
Be Inspired!
(Photo by Jakob Owens, Unsplash)
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