“No person is your friend who demands your silence, or denies your right to grow.”
~ Alice Walker
As I've proceeded through the days I refer to as my life, I have often encountered people who have said something to me in the effect, “You've changed. What happened?” And usually these words carry a negative connotation, as in and more specifically, “ I don't like the new you or your new choices in life.” And if the “new me” or the “new choices” I've made were for the worst, I would have understood their discomfort, or dismay, at the person standing before them.
Most of the time when this phrase is uttered by people, however (or something very similar), it's because the person has grown and subsequently changed, and has left the other person behind, or has decided to think of themselves more than the other person, put themselves first. And these are usually good things, but from the other person's perception, they appear as problems because their life, their balance, has been interrupted, disturbed. And when they are bothered by these new changes and new choices, as upsetting as it might be or as hard as it will be to remove this person from your life, you cannot keep attending to these weeds, or smaller flowers, in your soil as you grow taller and taller.
Whenever something like this is said to me, I always evaluate where the sentiment is stemming from, if they hold any validity, and question whether or not I should return to any old habits or behaviors. More times than not, I disregard these assessments because I know I am growing into the best version of myself and if others struggle to recognize this because I am no longer at their beck and call for whatever reason, I must, and often do, prune them from my daily lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment