“Say what you think. Love who you love. Cause you just get so many trips round the sun… Follow your arrow wherever it points.” ~Kacey Musgraves
Dear Universe,
I’m always looking for insight or inspiration and most of the time I find it. I especially love it when it finds me.
Yesterday I came across this quote, rather unexpectedly, and I loved it.
“How others judge me is none of my business.”
Brilliant! I’m not kidding.
In the past I have cared way too much about what others think of me, my choices, my decisions, my ideas, my path in life… It goes on and on. And I’m not simply talking about my nearest and dearest.
No, no. The problem goes much deeper than that!
A few years back, during a tumultuous period in my life, I had a fear of running into my neighbor. Why? Well, she had a way of hitting me with a one-two punch of questions, then another three-four combo—all before I was fully out of my car.
The questions were the kind my own mother wouldn’t have dared asking—unless she wanted to risk me having some sort of breakdown. They were deep, personal, probing and I often stumbled, not sure how to politely answer, often revealing way more information than I felt comfortable sharing. And I’ll admit. At times I just wanted to yell, it’s none of your business!
Why didn’t I? Well, besides not wanting to appear rude…this quick-questioning neighbor? She was a five-year-old little girl. A bit of a pipsqueak, yes, but only a small child! With bright blue eyes! That she batted constantly! And bangs! It doesn’t get more innocent than that!
And I had no clue how to handle her.
So you can imagine I sometimes get flustered when it comes to people my own size. Even though I am no wallflower and perfectly capable of standing up for myself, the worry of what people are thinking about me can mess with my mind.
This is something I have gotten better at. I’m trying to listen more to what my intuition tells me rather than all the other voices around me. At the end of the day, it’s more important that I’m in tune with my soul’s calling rather than what everyone else thinks it should be.
It’s a hard balance to strike because I do care, very much in fact, how what I’m doing is affecting my loved ones. Their approval and support is important to me.
But I’m trying hard to drown out my worries of what strangers, colleagues, former friends and yes, little neighbors are thinking.
“How others judge me is none of my business.”
The next time I find myself worrying about what someone out there is thinking, I hope this quote flashes in my head with all the majesty of a lit up billboard in Times Square.
It will remind me to focus my intention on what I want and not what I think others want me to do.
Thank you for the realization that I’ve come a long way—I think now I would know how to answer the little munchkin (probably a smile and no answer)—and the nudge to keep working on this since it has come up again recently.
“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” ~Dr. Suess
The more I can quiet out the voices of those whose opinions really don’t matter, the better I’ll be able to hear my own.
With Gratitude,
A
