I’ve Got Your Back
I was stopped at a light. I had just dropped the girls off at school and was on my way to my studio when my phone buzzed–
It was a notification. Someone had posted a comment on my article.
It was short and to the point, like a 10 blade without anesthetic, it hurt.
You’d think I’d have toughened up by now, writing publicly for as long as I have.
There isn’t anything I haven’t seen or heard at this point, but it doesn’t matter—I remain sensitive to a fault.
I’ve got thin skin everywhere, including my heart.
Just as the tears started to boil into an internal rage, the light turned green and a gust of knowing blew in through my open windows:
Just wait. Just wait. Be soft. You don’t need to defend yourself. You don’t need to answer. Just wait. Someone will have your back. Someone will protect you.
Intellectually, I know that what someone chooses to write in response to what I write is not about me; it’s about them. Trying to answer every comment and defend my work is like playing an endless game of Whac-A-Mole–I can’t win nor do I have the time or energy to play that game.
So, I’ve learned to go silent: I let them say what they’re going to say.
However, in this particular instance, I had to fight the urge to write back.
Just wait.
Just wait.
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.
There they were—The brave women who stood up for me, for all of us.
I learn or re-learn something new every single day that I take with me into tomorrow.
Yesterday’s lesson was about patience and trust—
Just wait because there is always someone watching out for each and every one of us, whether we know it or not. We have to be patient and give them time to arrive.
They will, at the right time, when we need them the most.
I’m not in this on my own and neither are you, even though it feels like that sometimes, we are not alone.
You’re there with me, and I’m here with you, too.
We will live through this, together.
