Saturday, September 14, 2024
Uninhibited self-expression is hard. Unbiased listening, even harder. We have emotions, thoughts, viewpoints, fears, and desires. For the expresser, those things are true. For the listener, they may not ring true.
When someone expresses themselves to you, and they say you’re a problem, for example, it doesn’t necessarily mean you are. You are a problem to them. Do you fall into their viewpoint? You can take it into consideration, but you are under no obligation to accept their perception as true. Remember, what’s true for them may not be true for you. People express themselves freely. Allow them. Hopefully, they will allow you too.
“Don’t say that to me!” Well, in that one phrase, you’re attempting to control others. Nice try! People speak freely. Are you afraid of their words? How you receive the expression of another is your own doing. How you take it is up to you. Is it offensive or true? You decide, or better yet – just listen. What I write here on this blog everyday is true to me. This is my voice of expression, and it flows freely. It feels true to me, but it’s not absolute Truth.
The expresser expresses. The listener interprets. Or the listener can just listen. Let’s remember expression is just expression. It can be impersonal. You can throw it away if you’d like. You don’t have to let it in. Your truth is coming from you. What you hear from others is their truth. It’s all relative truth, so everything is just as it is, side by side. As the expresser expresses, let nothing trigger you. When you express yourself, just let it out exactly as it wills to come out. Freely in and out. If it worked like that, fighting would cease. There are no fighting words unless you allow them to stir you up.