“It takes empathy to meet people where they are. It takes empathy, wisdom and a considerable amount of courage to leave people where they are.”
Part of Protecting Your Spirit and taking stock of The Energy Bank involves the sometimes difficult task of walking away. When do you know when it’s time to go? How will you know that you’ve done everything you can to make a relationship… any relationship… work? We wrestle with these questions often daily, whether with family, friends, work or obligations. Sometimes we stay where we are -at great cost to ourselves- in the interest in meeting others where they are. This is true in both professional and personal lives. At some point, the tipping point between our own Ego and Empathy is revealed, and we find that we have a decision to make.
If we are ever to grow, we must first be honest about where we are and why we are. Sometimes, staying in one place has nothing to do with the benevolence of meeting someone where they are. Sometimes it has to do with actively holding ourselves back for fear of growth. We all have potential. But potential is simply a whisper on the wind if we choose to do nothing about it. Believing that we are capable of more and acting on that belief has zero to do with the people, places, and things outside the borders of our skin. It has everything to do with our willingness to be honest about what we want, and our courage to realize that honesty through actionable ideas. Know that it is not necessary to have a grand plan or dream to implement your action. The sooner you are honest about identifying what you want in a deep meaningful way, the more likely you are to find your way to that thing, even if it means walking away from what is immediate and familiar.
Sometimes it is not the courage to walk away from people, places or things that is the most frightening. Sometimes it is the courage to walk away from ourselves. If in the end, we are the only ones who have to lie with the decisions we’ve made… then it stands to reason that we are truly the only ones holding ourselves back from realizing our highest, best selves. When you can be honest, really honest about this, then you put yourself in the enviable position of having a choice. When you see that choice as a call to power, you come to realize that you can be as much or a as little as you decide. Neither is right. Neither is wrong.
Begin with what is true. Rise from that place. And if you choose, walk away from what and who no longer serves you… even if that person is you.
