Show Up Anyway
You know what is one of the worst feelings? Showing up somewhere and no one being there. Has that ever happened to you? There's a party or maybe a group of you made plans, and you're the only one who bothered to make it. That's a terrible feeling. It really is. Our reactions from that experience range from anger to sadness to hiding. It just feels yucky.
I think sometimes we approach life with the same attitude when we feel like things didn't play out like we wanted them to, and it's hurting us. I really think if we shifted our perspective just slightly, we'd be able to embrace life a lot more whole-heartedly.
Whenever we show up to anything wondering what we will get from it, it usually goes south. Our expectations are just in the wrong place. Whenever we decide that we're going to be present even if we're the only ones there, it just isn't about our pride anymore. It becomes about something entirely different.
No one cares about you taking that leap of faith into your dream job? No one understands what it would mean for you to listen to that person speak? No one really wants to try that new restaurant with you? Show up anyway.
One of my closest friends used to regularly go to movies and dinner all by herself whenever we were undergraduates. I simply could not understand why it was worth it to her. But now I do.
There are always going to be things that nobody understands, but that does not make it less important if it's something you care about. Chances are there might actually be a lot more naysayers than you had hoped, but most of them are just going to be neutral. That's okay. It's not their thing. Don't let it stop you. If you care about it, then it is important. It is.
Sometimes you just have to have cheese dip all by yourself because no one else can go. Sometimes you have to see a movie all by yourself because no one else wants to go. Sometimes you show up to write a blog post no one will read. And sometimes it turns out you have a blast with you. All by yourself. While it's awfully life-giving to share these moments with other people, it can be just as life-giving without them.
As soon as you start living apart from attachment to people's opinions, you're going to be free. You're going to enjoy so many more parts of life. It turns out having a quiet dinner alone is pretty enjoyable, watching a movie by yourself gives you a different perspective, and writing because you love it--well, you can't beat it.
So just show up for what you love and where your heart really wants to be. You'll be glad you did.
Photo Story: My little one loves flowers. She nearly always picks one for me if she gets a chance. She wasn't home one day, so I decided to mow. While I was mowing our yard, these sweet little flowers were right in my path of destruction. I decided to go around them and let her find them. She was so happy to have them. If anyone knows how to really show up for any situation that's thrown her way, it's that little one.
x Keely
