The Story…

I have evolved far enough in life’s journey to know that there are many sides to a story. It just depends where you are standing.

When I tell my story, I tell it warts and all. I’m not afraid to paint myself in a negative light, or take accountability. Which is all fine and well, except I often witness people not seeing the parts they play in conflict. This always makes me reflect on the possibility that I might be not seeing my full picture either.   I’m sure to a degree everyone adds some type of silver lining, a justification for actions. But can we be genuinely blind to our own traits? I’d hope not.

I’d hope that I have done enough work to really see and own my part in conflicts, especially given my propensity to speak my mind.  But even so the reality is people rarely see a situation in the same light.  I never really understood how that was possible. Some things appear so black and white, no room for interpretation. Yet we have to take into consideration how vastly different people are from each other. How we view life greatly influences how we view conflict. How we view ourselves also has a huge bearing on our stances. There are also people who have no desire to look inward, often there will be no reasoning with those people. Realising this and accepting it will saves a lot of grief.

I came across this little gem today which felt really valid.

I’m fully open to the opinion of others. In fact I welcome the opportunity to really look at alternatives to my way of thinking.

When I was younger I thought I knew way more than I did, now I realise that was arrogance.  But there are certain things which I’ve taken a stance on I will not budge on. I’m ok with the fact that my choices might not be that of others in the same situation. But I came to those choices rationally, and with a great deal of contemplation. I’ve learned not to be rash, not to make decisions that I will regret tomorrow. To allow myself some time to process the emotions that will feel different with a lil time.

My long term decisions aren’t stories that I really need counsel on.  That processing played out years ago. But there are still many things that I need to be checked on and I’m open to it. I know that if someone comes along with a valid argument I might change my perspective. I don’t want to make my decisions without actually looking at all the choices available. I don’t just want to make ego based decisions. I want to sift through what is presented. I don’t want to have to deal with the doom and gloom that internal uncertainty gives rise to.