Let Them

"No matter what they do or say, 

don't you dare doubt your worth

or the beauty of your truth."

This is something I'd sincerely love to be able to accomplish.

I'm affected when I encounter someone who acts as if

I'm either not there or an annoyance in their world.

I wish with all my heart I could brush it off

and carry on in my happy way.

I wish it didn't cause a disturbance  in my molecules. 

I cringe when I find it coming up hours or days later.

If I could wave a magic wand, I would do so 

to immediately dispel the unpleasant scent 

that follows me from such encounters 

and wants to cling to my skin.

It also inspires me to remember that

my actions affect the world around me

in the same way...leaving a similar scent.

This reminds me of this quote that returns again and again...

"stop walking through the world looking for confirmation that you don't belong, 

because you'll always find it once you've made that your mission — 

same goes for scouring people's faces for evidence that you're not enough." 

Brene Brown, Braving the Wilderness

However, this feels different.  This is when you're expectation is to be treated 

at least politely and get a decidedly different response.

All my life, I've been taught and believed that kindness overcomes cruelty.

That we are meant to care about and for each other as best we can.

It's my choice and I choose to continue to bring whatever shred of kindness I can

into this world no matter how treacherous and brutal the terrain.