how's your mind?

I've found myself very aware lately of narrow perceptions being cast all around me. Not towards me necessarily, but towards others in general. I almost hate to even comment on it here because I'm sure I have been guilty of being close-minded at times. Perhaps that's what I'm doing now. I suppose that depends on each person's own perception.

What I do know is that lately when I feel that others are casting judgement on others due to their own tunnel vision, it evokes something within me. It evokes a multitude of feelings that I am still trying to muddle through. These feelings range from frustration to annoyance to sympathy. At least those are some I have been able to put my finger on recently.

I think what stands out the most are the walls that I feel beginning to rise up around my heart at times when I witness these perceptions that feel so skewed and unwelcoming to any other ideas. I lose trust. Part of me says, "I'll remember that I won't feel safe exposing my true self to this person." So I make a choice. A choice to hold onto and not share pieces of me. This used to make me feel alone. Today it feels more like a healthy filter.

I used to feel that feeling of being all alone because I feared being judged, misunderstood, or wrong for seeing things differently. Today I feel confident in my awareness of self and the value of my own perceptions. Tomorrow might shake my confidence.....but today I am free to be me; and true to me.