Like my mother before me, I am a very non-confrontational person. I do my best to be reasonable, to listen to all sides, and to never burn bridges. That works for me, but let me share a secret with you…sometimes I fantasize about being like my friends who aren’t afraid to stand up and say the difficult things, to question unfairness, to really stand up for what is true and right. I stand up in my own way, but it takes a special person to risk rebuque and censure. Not everyone has a disposition for it- I am a wreck if I even think someone is upset with me. Ridiculous, I know, and I am working at being better about standing in my truth. It was ingrained in me from my earliest years to be the ‘good girl’, to not make waves of any kind. I learned the lesson well.
I value having friends who are different from me. This world would never change for the good if everyone was as reserved as I am. I count on those people who bravely take a stand and help to affect change. It can’t be easy to go against the current, to perhaps doubt yourself because of the resistance you may face. Those people are my heroes on so many levels, setting an example of courage and integrity.
Friendship is like a beautiful bouquet of flowers; if the flowers were all the same, the bouquet wouldn’t be nearly as special. It’s the differences, those flowers that stand out a bit, that make the whole group become a true thing of beauty. How grateful I am for those different flowers, the ones that bravely stand out- they give the world a richness beyond compare.
The View from Here 