If you feel called to something, it will create tension in your life.
Your calling will pull you away from who you are and even who you thought you wanted to become.
It will put you at odds with your previous goals and even some of your current relationships.
Not everyone will understand your new direction.
You may not even fully understand it yourself.
Your task is not to understand, but to listen.
Heed the call and lean into the tension.
You do not need to sacrifice your gentleness in order to be strong.
True strength is not rigid or forceful.
It is flexible and adaptable.
Under enough pressure, that which is rigid breaks.
That which is overly forceful is resisted in kind.
True strength bends without breaking, is persistent without being forceful, and adjusts as needs require.
Do not sacrifice your gentleness in order to be strong because there is strength in gentleness there is gentleness in strength.
Telling people you are a jerk doesn’t excuse your being a jerk.
You don’t get a pass simply by calling yourself out.
Admitting your behaviors are objectionable doesn’t give you an excuse to continue behaving that way.
Authenticity is alright to a point, but not if it means being an authentically unkind person.
It may be inauthentic to be kind when you don’t feel like it, but it is also good practice.
Practice being the person you can be, not excusing the person you are.
The people around you deserve the best version of you, and you deserve to be that person also.
What you needed and what you need may be different from what others need from you.
Everyone is not like you.
By assuming they are, you are limiting your ability to be of service.
Your task is to serve others as they are, not to serve who you were or are.
To the best of your ability, be who they need.
This will require a level of empathy and compassion that you may not be accustomed to.
It won’t be easy, but it will make you grow.
The world does not need more people who follow along.
We don’t need more of the same.
We need leaders, innovators, and free thinkers.
If you don’t fit in, that is a good thing.
Stand out, make some noise, and make a difference.
It will be lonely at first, but you will be lonelier conforming beneath your potential.
Lead us in a better direction than where we are currently headed.
Meditations on God 