There are people that don’t like me. There are people that talk about me and judge me. There are people in this world that know nothing about me but still have decided that they don’t care for me. I have heard the rumors people have spread about me, I have had things put out into the world about me that aren’t true. There have been exaggerations made and personal business told to people beyond what I’m comfortable with sharing outside my immediate circle – and I openly share a lot of shit that most people wouldn’t, so trust me when I say it’s irritating that people find it necessary to go above and beyond to share the parts of my life that I’m not so open about.
Anyway, though.
I am seeing and hearing a lot lately about accepting oneself for who you are and where you are at in life. About trying to ignore the negativity from others and moving forward knowing that you are doing the best that you know how.
It’s easier said than done though.
Unless you live in a bubble, you are going to piss some people off. If you are authentic, you will likely make people uncomfortable. If you are too shy people will talk and if you are too bold people will talk and if you make a mistake people will talk. . .
And if you are perfect in every way people will still fucking talk.
People will try to knock you down and people will try to get under your skin and people will try and make you falter and attempt to get you to stray from your path – because you make them uncomfortable. People will purposely set out to hurt you because they are jealous or have nothing better to do and are just mean spirited.
There isn’t a way around this. I mostly believe that humans are good, but I also know there are a handful who are not, and I can’t shield myself from them as much as I wish that I could.
I realize that I share my story very publicly, and on top of that I work with the public. I realize that we live in a world where it’s not just word of mouth anymore – anything and everything can be advertised on the internet. You can google a name and find a person’s life story – and they don’t even have to be a blogger, let alone if they are.
“I feel safe in the midst of my enemies, for the truth is all powerful and will prevail.”
Sojourner Truth
There are rumors, and there are lies out there. There are exaggerated versions of my story floating about – both good and bad, I have no doubt. After all, I live my life. I do not live in a bubble, I take risks, I make mistakes, and I quite often make waves. I do not sit about waiting for life to happen to me – I make life happen for me.
I have reached the conclusion that it doesn’t matter. It does not matter one little tiny bit what people have to say about me. Because while words are powerful, truth is even more so.
Let them talk. Let the rumors fly. Because my integrity speaks for itself. Because my open hearted honesty speaks volumes. Because I know that at the end of each day, I did the best job I could at being human – and I will wake up and do the same thing tomorrow. I will live my life and people will talk shit for no reason and I’ll be annoyed, and the cycle will repeat for the rest of my life. But I won’t let the talk hold me back, and I will smile in the midst of those who are doing the talking – and maybe, just for giggles, I’ll give them something else to talk about.
Happy Monday.
Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash
So, This is Real Life 