The truth is always subjective....
We have always been told there are three versions of a story, the individual versions of the opposing parties, and the truth. The truth is the reality, the facts beyond question. But, who can be objective about that? Who is able to tell the truth without bias? A third party will always have just as skewed a view of the events as the participants. We all have our leanings and hats where we hang our loyalties. We will report the "truth" as we see it, and we will never all see it the same way. The truth can never be told objectively therefore, our individual truths are all we have. Knowing that, it is without question I will make sure I always abide by my own certainty. I will stand firm within it, because I am almost certain there will come a time when someone will most definitely attempt to rob me of it.
Friendship is a pathetic reason to allow others to mistreat you....
I have had friendships in which I intentionally let the clock run out. I stopped calling. I stopped asking to meet up. Some I directly hit the stop button, told them genuinely and directly to have a wonderful life, as I would no longer be in it. Many times I have come to this point simply because they did not want to reciprocate the friendship I extended, rarely because they actively did anything. Now, although I do not profess to be the best possible friend alive, I do try to give what I would want others to return. No one is perfect, but in the face of misdeeds no one person or group is exempt from reevaluation, or being voted off the figurative island. Sometimes without love lost, it's necessary to realize when the people with whom you have shared years of memories, laughter and love, no longer serve you. Bid them adieu.
Do not allow prayer to become a habit...
As a child I was given the words to pray. There was the Lord's Prayer, nightly blessings and even a way in which I was suppose to say grace. As an adult, I tried finding my own specific prayers to convey my praise and pain to my Creator. Eventually, I had a pattern. I used the same words, began the prayers in the same way, and ended them with an emphatic "Amen". However, as I backed away from long standing traditions and Christianity, I began questioning whether or not I was using the "right" words. Whether I knew how to "correctly" pray. All I knew is I still needed to pray. I found myself in moments in which I believed my life was not floating along according to plan simply because I was praying wrong. I was listening and listening and listening to the prayers I picked up on from others, and somehow I still felt as if I wasn't connecting, as if I wasn't being heard, as if I was losing my way. I would drift off into other thoughts mid-prayer until finally somewhere between a "Dear Heavenly Father...." and that resounding, "Amen" I realized it was me who wasn't listening. My prayers, with the carefully curated words, were now a routine. The subject matter may have changed from time to time, but essentially they were all the same. These words were no longer a direct reflection of my truest most internal thoughts, they weren't intentional. They were cheap. They were habit. I had to relearn what it meant to pray. I had to teach myself how to talk, not just pray to my Creator. My conversations with my source are now intentional, as if I am talking to a friend, because with all sincerity, I truly am.
Compassion and indifference can co-exist....
Before anything else we are human beings. The most valuable asset we have is our lives. There is nothing worth more than the gift of life we have been given. The level of care and tenderness we have when it comes to life, our own or anyone else's is a measure of how far we have evolved as a person. I was once told if we look within the details of religious doctrine, our Creator is more concerned with how we treat one another, and not necessarily how we interact with him. I believe no matter the doctrine one follows, this is true. We are all at different stages in our lives. People will do things that are hurtful, and no I don't believe it is necessary to forgive. However, I do think it's necessary to come to a place where you can be indifferent. Indifference allows room for respect for life, it allows one to protect themselves without harming another. They say something crazy....you can let it go. They do something crazy....you know how to back away. Have enough compassion for the pain and turmoil in someone else's life which has brought them to this place of anger and lashing out without letting it diminish your energy. I don't focus on "going low" or "going high", instead I am finding a way of remaining in a superior position of impartiality. It keeps me from being cold, while simultaneously preventing me from radiating an undeserving amount of warmth on those who have yet to earn it.
I don't need to be a "good" person....
My moral compass is not guided by a doctrine of faith of another’s making. I hear my Creator, and from that I follow. It doesn’t have to be your way, as I am not you. Another's definition of the "right" way to live has long escaped my window of concern. I reserve my cares for being a genuine person, not a contrived version of a "good" one. The only guide is the one in my spirit, and no man or woman has a superior version. We all have our flaws and our feats, and no matter what legacy one intends to leave what will be highlighted isn't up to us as individuals. So, I have become clear, as long as I remained true to myself, I was "good".
