Family: The Relationship I Did Not Choose

Family The Relationship2

Family is one of the most difficult relationships that exist.

Some of you may recall when I wrote about the challenges of my family during the death of my Mom.  For the article click here.

Family is not by our choice.  We just didn’t happen to meet them, felt a connection and decided to keep in touch or become very good friends.

We are born through a birth canal that connects to the relations of that canal and boom— good, bad, or indifferent, we are in a family.  Through a forced connection, we are either working to make it work, or not.

I must admit, I can manage relationships of any sort; friendship, intimate, casual or a network of associates.  These are fairly easy, as they come to be, or be gone, by my choice.

Family?  We are stuck.  If you are a person who is driven, ambitious, have a keep it real kind of personality, and do not succumb to the frailties of what other family members choose to be weakened by, you are a trouble maker.  Being different, creates family conflict.

I have had numerous conversations with people, who have had the same family experience.  What is the deal?  During the time of death, we need each other.  Death is not the time for casting blame, lying on each other, forgetting the goodness of each other, fighting over pennies, and power pulling on funeral arrangements.

Since my Mom’s passing, I have been met with one of the biggest decisions I’ve had to make.  Coming back to a broken family that created division through lies, deception and betrayal, in a time where we should have been standing, crying and loving together.

I didn’t break it.  I tried not to let it become broken.  Sometimes, when a family knows you have the spirit of not giving up, and a willingness to work things out, they will take your love as weakness.  They, on the other hand, can be angry, stubborn and down right insolent, because they know your character.  When they do finally come around to their senses, they know you have the kind of heart that will accept them and do what is right.

Recently, my family has had to face an ugly and painful lie, they thought was truth.  The person they thought they should have supported and believed in; and who they thought were righteous, actually turned out to be a liar, and the cause of a problem they actually laid at my feet without reason.

It may take months, days or weeks, but the truth always has a way of coming to the front; and when it does I am met with questions of what really happened, why someone would lie, and the irrefutable proof that I was right.  Being right, to me, is not about defending myself.

There is a creed by which I live.  I do not defend myself in the middle of gossip.  Folk talk about people all the time, without proof, and without an idea of what is going on.  I’ve never been a participant in gossip, but others make it a talking past time. Then they turn around and say their God is about truth.

In order to hide the truth, a liar will create drama, and indulge in pettiness with no intent to make peace. So, I extend my hand in peace, especially when they are screaming and yelling. I will make that allowance and not fight back, especially in the time of death. A rambunctious liar will cause a smokescreen in the form of drama.  When this happens, just sit and watch, there is an uncovering of the lies behind the drama.

A lie never works single handedly.  It needs the help of another lie to be made believable.

The family members that believed the lie is now faced with another painful truth. The pain in the truth is that they were wrong. Will they own it?  No.  Are they strong enough in their faith to repent?  No.  They judged without fact or prior precedence. They discarded and rejected me, and now I am met with the words, “We are family. We need to stick together.”

When we have the strength to stand in the middle of a crisis and pain; and have the courage to face a lying accuser, in the spirit of peace, rather than a fight.  We learn that having these abilities has nothing to do with the absence of frailty, anger, pain or fear.

It is about the priority in the situation for the need of strength, when weakness is not an option.  It is about the priority of courage, because fear will not win the battle. It is about a pain much more pressing than my own.  It is about using anger as my emotional resistance during a most vulnerable time in my life.

So, I move forward with my life, making the right decisions and doing the right thing. Knowing that family is not the relationship I have chosen, but for some reason, it chose me. I make the best of the bad, and do what is right in the midst of the wrong.   Keeping in mind, that who I am and what I do will most likely continue to be unappreciated by family, and in truth, I may always be misunderstood. My strength and stand will be misjudged again.  The love in my heart will never be returned in the magnitude and the way in which I have given to them.

One thing is for certain.  I do have the power to walk away, and I could, and be completely justified in doing so.  But me doing the right thing and generating great Karma and blessings is my reward. What my family does and what they generate is on them and by their choice.

I would not have chosen a family who is unsupportive and unloving, but what I can choose, is to be the best I can be, and keep on the path of the right choices I choose to make, can make, and the life I choose to live.  With this in mind, I have more than enough choices to make and the power to make the right choices.

This is the best way to deal with family— the relationship I did not choose.

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“It Wasn’t Meant to Be” (The Excuse)

Death of Love2Some people believe that if you let go of someone, in the spirit of love, he/she will  come back and the relationship will be reborn, if it was meant to be.  Meaning, if the one you let go does not return, then it wasn’t meant to be.

Uh…what?

I question the will, perseverance, and sincerity of those who rely on the “It wasn’t meant to be” statement, especially when it comes to a relationship.

Check this out.  There is also a saying that goes, “It is up to me— if it is meant to be”.

See the difference in ownership, responsibility, take-charge, assertiveness and accountability of that statement?  Big difference!  This statement is more about having the aggression to make things happen. This is a power statement! Not some passive and pitiful approach to whatever blows that come your way.

Some time ago, I was dating a Guy and found him to be consistently uncertain, doubtful even, and extremely slow to make decisions.  He was slow about everything— even in handling business.

I’ve learned when you are dating someone to observe their behaviors, how they handle their business, buildings they own, and finances they manage. Observe how they care, manage, respond, in business and their social life.  The very same handling, responses, and behaviors will unfold in their relationship also.  If you don’t like the way they handle their business, you will not like the way they handle the business in a relationship either.

Now, some would argue that being slow to make decisions demonstrate great thought, consideration, and deliberate effort to make the best choice for the situation at hand.  I would respond with, perhaps, they are just slow, have a blasé attitude and need to work with more of a sense of urgency. Perhaps it also denotes his/her insecurity and lack of self-confidence to make a damn decision!

Back to the Guy.

Just like his business, his responses in the relationship and about the relationship were slow and poor.  He was poor in communicating; he lacked care and concern with matters of importance. He spoke in unknown parables and often times had to be led down a series of questions in order for me to begin to understand what he was trying to articulate.  Ask him a yes or no question? Forget it! He would hmmm, and ahh.  Yo!  Very vague and annoying!  All tell-tale signs of our failing future as a couple.

I had to let him go.

He called me a couple of days later and told me, I let him go, because if it was meant to be, we would get back together.

Huh? How about no?!

When I let someone go, trust me, I let go. I don’t let go to hold on.  I don’t let go and hold on.  I don’t play the game of hoping that letting go will generate a return.  I don’t set myself up for unnecessary risks.  I never relegate myself to being an emotional victim!  Those days are long gone.

I told him if God gave man dominion over the earth, surely man should be able to handle a relationship, and have dominion over his own actions and behaviors.  I am a believer, if two people really put their minds to it, and make consistent efforts, together they can do anything.  

Hoping in the return of someone, after you have made the decision to let him/her go, is a set up for self-failure. Putting your hope in the hands of someone who you had to let go, is a definite steer onto the path of emotional destruction.

There is always a slim possibility that Love letting go, can bring a return that was better than before.  Anything is possible.  However, not many people are making drastic and permanent changes that makes their come back worth taking them back.

The phrase, “It was not meant to be” should be backed by hard work, utilizing every possibility, giving the best of yourself, and doing your finest work.  Don’t just sit there and cite the words as a way out to not work hard for the relationship.  Some folk actually say it, like it is out of their hands, using the phrase as a cop out.

If you really observe them, they really put forth little effort, and then use an excuse of, “Well it was not meant to be”.  Really, how weak is that??!!!!

When you have exhausted everything and it falls flat?  THEN the saying, “It was not meant to be” is valid, tried and true.  Also there are no regrets (no wondering if) of what could have been, because you went through a process of trying to make things work. Tried every possible way to work things through.  Then you will know beyond a shadow of a doubt, and without any need for future contemplation that it really wasn’t meant to be.

So, should (when) that person tries to return, you have definitive information on what did or didn’t happen to cause you to let go in the first place.  Chances are you will not be interested in going down the same path of the behaviors that caused you to let go in the first place.

Trust me.  When you are an outstanding partner and you make the call to let your partner go, more often than not, (99% of the time) they will want to return.

In truth, we cannot control our partner.  We have no control over whether he/she will be honorable, or bring their very best, love completely, and deport him/herself to make the relationship successful.

We can only control what WE do, and we do have some say on what we will not take, and we can express by demonstration in our word, example, action and deeds, the quality and respect, we are so deserving of.  

So, before you say, “It wasn’t meant to be” make sure you were not the cause, because you were not doing your best “to make it be”.

Posted in Series from the Author-My Heart to Yours | Tagged , | 6 Comments