This poem was recited by the character playing Margaret Thatcher on The Crown and it struck me:
"YOU have no enemies, you say?
Alas! my friend, the boast is poor;
He who has mingled in the fray
Of duty, that the brave endure,
Must have made foes! If you have none,
Small is the work that you have done.
You've hit no traitor on the hip,
You've dashed no cup from perjured lip,
You've never turned the wrong to right,
You've been a coward in the fight."
"No Enemies" - by Scottish poet Charles Mackay (1814-1889)
When did we get so easily offended by it all? Or so afraid to extend the truth of our full selves in fear of non-acceptance? I am proud to admit that I am a recovering people-pleaser and I am learning to shed this piece of me as I grow into the fullest part of myself. I have realized that not everyone will like me, that's okay. While I occasionally feel the pull to please - the desire for acceptance and belonging in everyone's eye - I no longer need these things to be who I am. I live into the pieces of myself that might offend knowing that to live vulnerably, to live wholeheartedly, to truly show up to my life, not everyone will like what I have to say, agree, or accept. That's okay. I don't need it to know who I am and live into the Truth I know deep in my heart, feel in my spirit, and long for in my soul.
