LOSING FRIENDS & FAMILY ON YOUR SPIRITUAL PATH - IT'S A THING

You aren't warned about many things to expect while on the spiritual path. One of the most devastating things is losing relationships with friends and family. I have lost both. Hindsight is twenty, and that perfect vision of being able to look back and assess the relationship begins to end. When one can do this and have a perfect understanding of its purpose and why, that is knowledge and understanding. When one can reflect upon it all and say I LOVE YOU, THANK YOU, & FORGIVE YOU, that is called growth. The whole experience makes us wiser. 

    Not all of my relationships survived, and that is a good thing. Why is that a good thing? A spiritual journey like mine involves unlearning beliefs, behaviors, and mindsets that defeat or hold us back. To a certain extent, we have chosen who we surround ourselves with based on the past or the former self that behaved according to our previous beliefs and mindsets. When we awaken along our journey, we face addressing these relationships and deciding if they serve us any longer. Sometimes, this organically happens, and it isn't our choice because the people who knew us or our previous version of ourselves cannot process the new us. 

    Even though I am spiritual and understand that this is how things work, it is still painful to endure this process. Sometimes, we have to endure this repeatedly as each friend and family member that no longer belongs is removed or their presence in our lives is reduced to minimal. Many of us on the path are called crazy because we are no longer that previous person who put up with too much nonsense that held us back from being our authentic selves. Sometimes, friends and family members use manipulation and control tactics to hurt us. This tactic is loyalty to friends and family, which is used intentionally to make us feel bad and reel us back into relationships that no longer serve our highest and best interests. I have experienced this in various ways from various people - at its very core - the use of what a social and, to an extent, a religious belief system has programmed people to believe - that family is everything and that family and friends are everything. That is true, but to what detriment and why would I allow religion or society to say that I am required to be part of a family, friendship, or a relationship because of biology or history or some other reason, especially when these things are not supporting my overall well being. When one doesn't comply with this norm of society and religious beliefs, that is when we are labeled as a crazy outcast. 

     On my journey, I had to learn boundaries and self-love, which has. This led me to a different life with different goals and desires. I spend a lot of time alone. I am okay with it because it is healthier for me to have supportive, loving, compassionate, and empathic people who strive to have healthy, balanced relationships versus what I left behind. I left behind drama, manipulation, and people who wanted to control me to be who they wanted me to be for their own gains in whatever form. That living no longer serves me and who I am today. 

    This is for those who have felt this or the sting of it on their journey—it's okay. Keep going. Go find your tribe that you vibe with. I am still looking for my tribe, and I may not have a tribe, but I do know that every now and then, I vibe with some really great people. I know that one day, not too far away, I will find another person, and they will complete my tribe. With or without another person in my tribe, I will live my life according to what is right, sound, and vibe with me. Be You. BE TRUE TO YOU - LIVE AND LOVE AND BE THE LIGHT. YOU ARE PART OF THE BIGGER TRIBE OF ONE - OF THE TRUE DIVINE ONE HEART AND MIND AND I LOVE YOU!