In life, I am the excuse maker…always making excuses for everyone around me.  Maybe they are having a bad day. Maybe something is going on in their lives. Maybe they are having a tough time.  It’s in my nature and what I do.  Always understanding that sometimes people are not their best selves and that there is a myriad of reasons that could explain it away.  Most of the time, I remind myself to not take it personally…and to just move on and away in a different direction if possible knowing that time and distance will do wonders for my soul and the situation.  I make these excuses all the time for the world around me.  Protecting my feelings…preserving my energy…saving my emotional self.  But it wasn’t until recently that I realized that this is connected to a bigger lesson that Oprah is always talking about.
The big ONE from Maya Angelou –“When people show you who they are, believe them.”

Our sense of hearing should be heightened when we are younger because this lesson would have saved me so much heartache if I had listened in my twenties when I was caught up and emotionally drowning in bad relationships with friends and a fiancé.  It probably would have saved me frustration and stress from work over the years with understanding that some people should just be avoided.  It definitely would have saved me from all of the times I had wished for people to act differently…when in fact, they were just being true to themselves…and our two different energies were not connecting or even in some situations, fighting each other and clashing.

A long time ago I began to understand this energy.  Not just my own and how it shapes the world, but the connections and the energy that you feel with others.  Sometimes, its instantaneous.  You meet someone and you are drawn to them and feel the connection.  Sometimes, it happens a little more slowly but it can be just as strong.  But just was important as recognizing these great connections, it’s important to take the time and acknowledge the ones that don’t happen too…because there is a reason they have come into your life.

Sometimes, there are people who have dropped into my life or crossed my path that from the first moment I can just tell…there’s no connection.  Many times it’s a clash of energies and not “feeling the love.”  The simple explanation – People are different and energy is different. If my energy doesn’t mix with someone at this moment, it’s important to acknowledge it and move on.  It doesn’t mean that the person is necessarily bad or that you will never align. It’s simply a clue…that “gut reaction” that Oprah is always saying pay attention to. When you don’t connect with one person, life is simply making room for someone else.  Fill your life with people with good energy…make those connections and that itself, will lead you on the path to living your best life.