08/10/2024
Of course it’s great to feel loved and seen. It’s human nature to want to be liked. But for me, popularity, at the expense of being authentic and sharing my true self, is hollow. My intention is to come from a place of true love and compassion.
I care about people, the environment and I love animals. Of course I like having nice things, but connections are far more important to me than possessions. That’s who I am. I do not tolerate bigotry or bullying. I often find myself advocating for the underdogs, those who I believe are being abused or treated unfairly.
I have come to a place in my life where if my choice to be a compassionate kind person, who wants to encourage and embrace a society where people can make up their own choices about what happens to their bodies, about what to believe in, who to love and how to live their lives… if that annoys you and makes you dislike me, then I’m sorry but I don’t actually need that type of “friendship”.
We don’t need to all be or look the same. In my opinion, there is not only room for diversity in our society, but diversity makes us better and far more interesting. If this makes some people feel uncomfortable or dislike me, then so be it. I choose to open my heart and my mind, to pay attention, listen and learn. I strive to do better and be better. I want to be awake and aware of what’s happening in the world and to be sensitive towards those who are not being heard or treated well. I do not apologize for that. It’s not a weakness to care. It’s a strength.
I believe if being “woke” is a joke to you or something you use or consider as an insult, then I seriously question your judgement, your heart and your place in my life. I do not tolerate racism and any form of bigotry. If you reject people or fight against a cause for being “too woke”, I believe you are telling me an the entire world that you are selfish. A person who is unwilling to take the time to listen compassionately to someone else’s needs and concerns, unwilling to recognize that some people are and consistently have been abused or treated unfairly because of things completely outside of their control.
If you’d prefer to hold onto to your bigotry then to hear someone out who is simply trying to ask to be seen and recognized as someone who’s life matters just as much as yours and everyone else’s, then that’s truly unfortunate.
If you are hell bent on preventing progress, if you want to stand in the way of freedom and civil rights for not just people who look and believe just like you but for everyone including; women, children, people from other ethnic groups, people who have different spiritual views, and people who have a different sexual orientation than yourself, then I just want you to know that I see you. I don’t know if you see it or not. However, I recognize that you don’t truly want freedom. You just want to hang onto your unearned privilege no matter who it hurts. To me that’s sad.
I know saying these things will not make me popular. However I believe being popular is over rated. Especially if it comes at the expense of being our authentic selves. Strong passionate people who make an impact always have some haters and detractors. I intend to continue to be true to myself and encourage all of you to be true to yourselves as well.
I am grateful for my beautiful authentic friends. I feel blessed. Please know that I value you and our connection. If you find yourself struggling with all the negativity and hatred being expressed by the people around you then I suggest to focus less on the quantity of your friends and followers and to instead focus more on the quality of your connections. Surround yourself with people who love you exactly as you are. People with good hearts who love and support you both to your face and behind your back. These are your people, and of much more value (in my opinion) than having a ton of fake friends who don’t even really know you because you’ve been a people pleaser. Or even worse, who stick around just because they want something from you.
If you are in my life, I hope you choose to continue to be my friend and stay in my life. However if being a person who chooses day after day to keep my eyes and heart open leads you to believe that I am just too “woke”, then we probably aren’t really friends. I believe in living life out loud and in letting everything and everyone sort themselves out.
