Judge not

A pretty boy told me a strange thing once. Five minutes after meeting me (for breakfast at The Mug – our first offline interaction), he said he really felt at home with me, and that made him uncomfortable. I asked why. He said, ‘It’s too easy to trust you. You’re sitting there projecting openness, acceptance, and warmth, but I know you’re silently judging me.’ I didn’t know how to respond, so I just smiled.

We proceeded to have french toast, hot chocolate, pinacolada cake, and a satisfying three hour conversation, all before 10.00 a.m. I like that boy. It didn’t go anywhere (he had a girlfriend), but I really like that boy. Still … he did make me wonder about my quietly judgemental tendencies.

Some people say they feel safe with me, because I accept them as they are. Others say I’m opinionated, snobbish, and a major pretender. Me? I crave acceptance for being who I am, and I hate getting my feelings hurt, so I try to give others what I want for myself. I don’t always succeed, but I try.

(Also, I have a pretty deep-seated rejection complex, which I serve by living in voluntary hermit mode. They can’t hurt you if you don’t let them in.)

I do recognise my inner judginess though. It’s something I asked the universe to weed out of me this year, and it – the universe – is doing a pretty good job. I’m seeing new sides of people I’ve known for years, and realising there’s method to their madness. It doesn’t make them any less mad, but knowing how they got that way … it paints them in a new light.

When I set out on this quest, I thought it would change my opinion about people. It hasn’t. The idiots are still idiots. The flakes are still flakes. The meanies are still mean. But I can see the journey to their nature, and the triggers behind their character. I have a deeper understanding of the reason they act. It doesn’t make it okay, but it helps it make sense.

My best friend is one the least judgemental people I know. He embraces everyone, accepts everyone, sees the humanity in them, even when they’re full of shit. It’s a beautiful trait to have. The downside is other people’s assumptions. If we are judged by the company we keep, then his open-door policy means he’s categorised in the same dark spaces as those he protects.

No, this isn’t BFF, but his heart is just as pretty, and he does love cats, so this is who he is in my eyes.

In away, he’s the one that’s driving me to non-judgement. Because I know him well enough not to lump him with his friends. And if I can do this for him, then in principle, I can extend this ‘kindness’ to the rest of the world too. Last year, he taught me to let go of grudges. This year, I want to let go of judgement. And so far, the universe is going HAM with this teaching moment.

One aspect I’m struggling with is (not) defining people by their past. It’s especially poignant in this age of digging up someone’s tweets or posts from 20 months ago – sometimes as far as 20 years. I’ve always said if you did bad shit back then, you’re the same bad person now. I hold myself to that standard … which is why I still carry the shame of some fuck-ups from my twenties.

But I’m learning things. People change. Bad people can do good shit, and good peple can do terrible things. These things they do don’t always define who they are. They can, but they don’t have to. And another thing…

I know I’m not the same person. I know I won’t do that shit again. But I did it, I own it, and I carry it. I suppose … I suppose I should learn to forgive it. In myself, and in others. Because people do grow. People do change. And part of taking people as they are … is accepting who they are right now.

BFF will sometimes tell me he wishes we’d met earlier. And I say if we met before we did, we probably wouldn’t have liked each other, because we were different people then. So if I can accept that I love who he is now, even as I dislike who he was then, I can extend this courtesy to other areas of my life. To other people. To myself.

I suppose the deciding factor is more present. Some people will tell you they’ve changed … then pull the same crap they did before. So while you can forgive their past ills, you’re still left with their shitty present. In those cases, it’s all very well to say ‘don’t judge’ … but it comes with a hefty dose of ‘don’t indulge.’ For my own safety and sanity.

And, without really noticing it, my 2019 quest not to judge others is a far deeper dilemma. I assumed it was about making my way more easily through the world, letting go of pointlessly negative energy, practicing tolerance and empathy. But it turns out what I’m really seeking … is not to judge myself.

♫ swallowed in the sea ♫ coldplay ♫

The secret to happiness …

… is probably that nobody knows what it is.

We all have to find out for ourselves. Maybe because happiness – like wealth – is different for everyone. There are days when I have 50K in my account, but I feel broke because my debts are five times that. And there are days I find a random 50 bob in my jeans pocket and feel like a billionaire.

The year has just started, and I’ve found a new definition of happiness. For me, happiness is ‘feeling enough’. Because from a practical perspective, my life is awesome. I’ve ticked off a lot of my boxes and I’m doing good. I’ve even shed weight. It wasn’t on purpose, and the circumstances sucked, but shed weight is shed weight so yay! Now to keep it off … or maybe shift it around?

via GIPHY

(I typed *lost* weight, then heard a random voice from my dalliance with Buddhism. A voice that said, “When you lose something you’ll find it again, so maybe don’t use that word for something … unless you want it back.”)

I think I’m a happy person. Because the silliest things make me giggle, I’m easily amused, and my brightness bubbles up like a child. But I’ve had lifelong cycles of anxiety/depression, which doesn’t quite fit with me being happy.

The past few days have been especially harsh. Lots of tears, lots of reflection, and finally, a realisation that all my dark days arise from feeling not-enough. I get into the space of fear and despair. I look at those around me and start to measure myself against them. And because the view is skewed, I fall short.

Expectation vs reality

Result? I scramble to catch up, making dumb decisions out of fear. Or worse, I sink into a hole, feeling I’ll never catch up – why even try? I’m not good enough to be in the same lane, or even the same race. I’m just not worth the effort, or the time. It’s a scary place to be, and a life-defeating one. Literally.

Not-enough-ness frequently dumps me in a spiral and leaves me there. So I figure if I can keep my happiness self-contained, if I can convince myself I’m enough for me, then I’m good. And if the forces around me try to put me down, I’ll know I’m enough for *me* even if I’m not enough for them.

via GIPHY

It’s easy to drown out unwanted voices. Alcohol. Drugs. Sex. Fiction. But when the unwanted voices come from the inside … and they know how to swim … things get a little tricky. So my task for the year is to shush that voice in my head, to talk back when it says I’m not enough. To look it in the eye, smile, and say, ‘Yes, I am. I’m enough for me. Even if I’m not enough for you.’

I don’t want to get angry though. Or mean. Or unkind. I don’t want my self-sourced happiness to be a weapon against the world. I don’t want to get so militant in my *happiness* that it turns into bile I readily splash at others. I want my happiness to be mine, and I want it to be all about me.

And when the darkness tempts me to take off the blind-fold and see what ‘others’ are doing, lures me into exploring the pantone of their grass, I can say nah, I’m good right here. It seems like such a simple thing in theory. I just don’t know how to make it … real. Luckily, I have this year to find out.

♫ Walk on Water ♫ Thirty Seconds to Mars ♫

The year of me

I have this weird thing I do where I look too far ahead. It’s a quality I’ve always been proud of – my not-so-inner overplanner – but now I realise I miss out on a lot. I’m so busy looking forward that I don’t get to enjoy where I am. I only ever have fun in retrospect.

Case in point. A few weeks ago, I turned 37. #4to40 was an amazing hashtag … that I should have used all year … if I hadn’t been so focused on the future. And now that I think of it, I do the same thing every year. I spend 11 months focusing on my next birthday instead of my current one. Then one month regretting the wasted year. And that’s a lot of roses I don’t get to smell.

I’m scared of turning 40, because there’s a shit-ton I thought I’d have done by then, and I’m not even close. But also because my little girl is no longer little. She’s living her own life, and I need to start living mine. But I’ve revolved around her so long I’m not sure what I look like outside her.

Late in 2017, I met my truest friend. It’s been a hell of a year with him, in every way. Emotionally. Financially. Psychologically. He’s taught me to see myself in a new way. To let go of parts of me that weren’t serving me. Parts I thought were permanent, until I shed them. I’m a better me because of him.

That doesn’t mean it’s easy. Best-friend-ship – at least the way I live it – is as intense as a marriage. And we all know how I feel about marriage. Right now, I feel that way about relationships too. I think they’re nice for other people, just not for me, and I’m fine with that. Sometimes, the feeling changes

But right now, I’m happier on my own, despite the baby-daddy’s drunken rants demanding otherwise. And no, the baby-daddy and the hangover guy are not the same person. Yes, I still think he – hangover guy – is a good man. It’s just that he wants kids, I don’t, and he wants kids more than he wants me. I’m over him, I wish him the best, and I don’t do friendship with former lovers (or almost lovers). It just doesn’t work for me. I’m not that grown up.

But in this year with my best friend, I’ve realised I’m doing all the things married people do (including NO SEX hehehe). And I’m realising this is all the permanence I need. Because I’m giving him all the things I’m unwilling to give a spouse. And our relationship is just as much work – and just as much reward – as an actual marriage. Yes, that includes the drama.

In 2018, he taught me new things about myself, and helped me shed some old ones. I have more lessons to learn. To judge less, especially myself. To let go of my need to be right. To truly love myself. And be kinder to myself. Much kinder. To not take criticism personally. To enjoy the moment.

So this coming year, in 2019, I’m not going to be ‘almost 38’. I’m going to be 37. I’m going to live it. I’m going to enjoy it. And I’m going to give more – way more – to me. I hope everyone does the same. (I’ll take Mpesa. Till numbers available on request.) #PleaseAndThank you. #NaUsitumeYaKutoa.

via GIPHY

Stay Zedd