You Don't Need Their Applause
Yes, it would be nice if we all could applaud our fellow brothers and sisters when they arrive in life, but that is not always the case. I have helped clients who have experienced the very people they call friends or family go cold turkey on connecting with them after getting promoted or buying a new house. This sudden disconnect or avoidance may seem like nothing to some, but to others, this reality can be disheartening and leave you feeling lonely and questioning why. Unfortunately, we live in a society where too many want to simultaneously be like the Joneses and the Johnsons. We no longer want to be the best version of who God has called us to be. We refuse to take the time to discover our unique gifts and talents refusing to become our true-self. Yes, there may be a million therapists worldwide, but guess what… there is only one me. Yes! No one will do what I do because we are individually designed to be unique but yet a part of a collective, we are also designed to yearn to discover who we are. There can be a lot of reasons why these people who were deemed so important and close in your life have abandoned you. I suggest introspection first, and if you find that you have done nothing to them, I suggest you confront them. Ask them the whys and express your confusion. Respectfully place them in the position to answer you as they have placed you in a position to feel awkward and cut off. Sometimes, we must do the hard stuff to gain clarity and peace.
It may not always work out the way you want. They may become angry or uncomfortable that you confronted them they shut down and refuse to speak to you. If that happens, you have your answer. This is the part where we do as the Word tells us to shake the dust off our feet and leave a place walking away from those who don’t wish to listen to your message or welcome your feelings, in this case. “Whoever does not welcome you, nor listen to your message, as you leave that house or city, shake the dust [of it] off your feet [in contempt, breaking all ties]. (Matthew 10:14) Our inability to do this is why there are so many one-sided, empty, and fruitless relationships. This is also why we become prisoners of other people’s issues with themselves, why we are found begging, being used, and overlooked. They push you away and they pull you towards them when it fits them because they are not mad at you they are really mad at themselves. Usually this comes from whatever comparisons they are doing. In a world of billions, not everyone can be like you, and not everyone can applaud you, but guess what? I applaud you!
