It is a difficult process. Probably unbearable at times, possibly impossible. And, yet, it is a road or path that is presented and may be viewed as required. It is so much easier to have a temper tantrum and demand attention. It is so much easier to focus on oneself and demand that one be heard. It is so much easier to do what it takes to be noticed and feel that those who hear your message know what you are saying. Or, is it?
To be misunderstood is to be alone.
To be misunderstood is to have moments of reality… many of them.
To be misunderstood is to accept (and expect) that there will be no understanding.
To be truly misunderstood is to accept the reality that understanding may not be something that will come to you… at least, not as it relates to those for whom you wish understanding would be granted.
But, with that misunderstanding, and the endurance of being misunderstood, often comes the foundation of strength.
Foundation of Strength
When you learn to live past the gulps in the throat…
When you learn to live past the warmth of your tears flowing down your cheeks…
When you learn to embrace the solitude that accompanies deep, heart-felt pain…
It is there that you embrace the reality of your existence. It is there that you realize that emergence of misunderstanding into a strength that isn’t born out of ease or the pain-free life.
Fountain of Comfort
Out of that strength, comes a flowing peace. It isn’t without pain, and yet, it has its own ebb and flow. It is that flowing that seems to comfort others. Amazingly comfort besets even those who misunderstood… even those who continue to misunderstand.
And, yet, it is at that moment that the pain is understood. Not by those who continue to misunderstand, but by the bearer of the pain. At that point, the reality of a life misunderstood clears, as if the clouds slip aside to allow the sun to shine its light. At that moment, the peace and comfort that washes over another human being is worth the pain of the misunderstanding, because without that pain, that comfort would not flow. Without that path, the road would not be traveled. And, it is understood that with misunderstanding comes strength, and with strength comes the ability to love those who misunderstand… even more.
Be comforted. You are not alone. And, truly, you are not as misunderstood as you may feel, for there truly are those of us who do… understand. We walk the road with you.