When we embrace our power there are things we have to remember.  There are people around us who became comfortable with us in a certain role with them. They enjoyed what they could get from us and they took what they wanted with no thought for what we needed.  There are people who only wanted our presence when we made them feel good about their own insecurities or mistakes but they reveled in ours.  There are people who, once we start growing realize we could surpass them in some form or another (whether or not that’s the actual goal) so they want to keep us where we were.  None of these are reasons to suppress our own growth.  And none of these are reasons to assume that person’s discomfort with our progress has anything to do with us.  Below is a piece from Jay Douglas elaborating on this topic and, truly, not much more is needed to be said when we find ourselves in situations like this.  It’s a reminder that we don’t need to carry what isn’t ours and we don’t need to pause our lives for the sake of people who fear change/growth.  An affirmation that we are not responsible for people’s feelings in their perception of us.  This is a reminder that our growth, not someone else’s comfort is priority for us.  Embracing our power and welcoming the version of ourselves we were always meant to be means letting go of what we knew and who we were and that scares people—still not our problem.  We live in our reality, our presence, our power, not the fears someone else tries to put on us and certainly not the feelings someone tries to make us responsible for when we celebrate the steps we’re taking in our lives.  Our light makes it brighter for other people to see how to make themselves shine so don’t stop shining because someone is afraid to see.

“Let me clear something up for you so that your mind can stop racing about why people treat you how they treat you even through you’ve done nothing but good to them, for them.  But this will explain why people act the way they act toward you.  People aren’t bothered by what you own, they’re bothered by who you are when you walk into a room.  They’re not jealous of your stuff, they’re uncomfortable with your spirit, with your presence with the way you show up whole without shrinking without asking permission.  It’s the confidence that doesn’t need applause, the peace that doesn’t come from circumstances lining up, the belief you carry in yourself even when things aren’t perfect, even when life hasn’t been kind to you. That’s what shakes people.   Material things can be earned, they can be copied and replaced but character has to be built, peace has to be cultivated, joy like yours that comes from the triune God himself and only Him can’t be faked. Some people look successful on paper but feel empty in private so when they see someone grounded, someone hopeful someone steady it exposes the part of themselves they’ve been avoiding that’s when the tension starts, not because you’re doing to much but because you’re doing something they haven’t figured out how to do yet. Your optimism threatens their excuses your consistence challenges their chaos your light reminds them of who they stopped believing they could be and instead of asking “how do I grow?” they ask “how do I dim them” so they criticize they minimize they distance themselves but hear this: your light is allowed, it’s honest.  The right people aren’t intimidated by honesty, they’re healed by it they feel safe around it they grow around it and the ones who can’t handle it were never meant to stand close to you anyway.  So keep being you, keep loving how you love, keep believing how you believe, keep showing up with your whole heart because the world doesn’t need less light it needs people brave enough to keep shining even when others don’t understand it,” Jay Douglas.