Strong Enough

I don't always have people on my side, I mostly have to fend for myself. You know, if you want something done...

But, it doesn't matter, as I am strong enough. That's what a friend said when I question doing it alone? But you don't need people on your side, you are the strongest person I know.

Yeah, but sometimes it would be nice.

“Yes, but you don’t need it, do you?”

“Oh, I don’t know that I am any different from anyone else.”

“I think you are?”

“Really? You know me better than I know myself?”

“Well, that isn’t unusual. I think our friends do know us better than we know ourselves.”

“I don’t know that is true. Necessarily.”

“You think everyone is perfectly self aware?”

“Oh, well, no, I guess I wouldn’t, exactly, say that.”

“So, you concede that I am right?”

“Oh, no, I wouldn’t exactly say that either.”

“What are you saying?”

“I think it was you who was saying?”

“That you don’t need people on your side to make it in life.”

“And I would say that is your opinion…”

“My opinion of you.”

“Yes, that is what I am saying.”

“You know there are people who say you have no right to know someone else’s opinion of you.”

“Who says that?”

“Embrace the freedom of not caring what people think of you.”

“Oh, I didn’t say I cared.”

“But clearly…”

“Well, I guess it appeared…”

“When you do not seek or need approval, of others, you are at your most powerful. 

“I wasn’t seeking it, you were giving it.”

“True freedom comes from not worrying about what other people say about you.”

“It is a hard one to master, though.”

“When you truly don’t care about the opinions of others, you have reached a wonderfully awesome level of freedom.”

“Do we need to talk about the true meaning of awesome?”

“Let’s accept it as given for the moment, for the context of this discussion.”

“Okay.” I grind my teeth in quiet chagrin.