August 19th, 2021
I’ve been seeing a lot of people lately sharing insights about how we should be gentle with ourselves.
That the phrase “unprecedented times” has never applied to more unprecedented times. That the modern world has pushed, pulled, squished and smooshed us in every emotional and psychological way possible.
I couldn’t agree more.
I’ve been really enjoying The High Republic series of Star Wars books this year; it doesn’t matter what your level of nerd is, though, because what I’m about to talk about is relevant regardless of whether you know Yoda from Yaddle.
There’s a passage in one of the young adult books in which a character is worried that they’re a part of the Dark Side now, because they made a mistake. Another character reassures them:
Making mistakes does not make you a bad person. Even doing something bad doesn’t make you a bad person. Instead, the path to the Dark Side is deliberate.
Yes, that sounds dramatic. But how many times do you drop a tiny ball that feels like a massive weight?
Like when you forget to text your friend back. Or you say something you meant to be a joke that doesn’t land as a joke. Or you take out what’s going on the inside of you on an innocent person too close to the outside of you.
I drop a million tiny balls a day and each one, at least for a moment, makes me feel like a bad person. It’s when I remember that I can only juggle so many at a time that I feel relief from it.
So I hope all the reminders being shared about being gentle with yourself not only resonate with you, but remind you.
Being a bad person is a deliberate choice. You are just a beautifully human juggler doing the best they can.
(📷 by Poly Mendes Photography)
The Den 