By Lori Deschene j udgmental
It was the second time Iโd gone out to lunch with a new friend I met through this site.
Weโd experienced some of the same things in life, and I instantly admired her attitude and perspective. judgmental
Sometimes when I meet up with people Iโve met through Tiny Buddha, I feel a sense of inner conflict. One the one hand, I want to live up to everything I imagine they expect of me.
I want to be positive, present, and upbeatโall qualities I aspire to embody in my life and through my work.
But I also want to be free to justย be, in whatever state I find myself on that given day, without worrying about how Iโm perceived.
Thatโs been my lifelong journeyโlearning to show up as I am, without fearing whether or not other people will accept that.
My greatest drive in my life is to be authentic. But if Iโm not mindful, I can easily get in my own way.ย
As we sat chatting, I found myself feeling more and more comfortable, and relieved that after all the years Iโd spent isolating myself, Iโd finally learned to relax and be myself in the company of new people.
We broached the topic of crowds, something Iโm pretty vocal about disliking. I made a sarcastic comment, something along the lines of โPeople are best in small doses.โ I meant that I prefer intimate groups of people, but I immediately questioned how it came across.
That didnโt sound very Tiny Buddha-ish, I thought. Then I reminded myself, โSheโll know what I mean. Clearly I donโt hate people.โย
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I wasnโt quite so confident when she said, โAre people best from a computer screen, when youโre sitting alone in your living room?โ