As humans, we have things that bring us pure joy; things that leave us feeling good and happy. For me, it's babies, Jesus, the High School Musical trilogy, and chips & queso. Put any of those things in front of me and I'll be set for at least a few hours, if not more. I'm not quite sure how to describe it or how they came to be, but these are some of my favorite things and I'm proud of them because they help to make who I am. There are also some complex things that aren't necessarily tangible that fill us with joy, too, such as sports, music, prayer, and many others. But first, some of those things must motivate us, drive us, inspire us, and eventually, in the end bring us true joy.
Recently, I had a conversation with someone that didn't sit well with me. They were verbally discussing with me the flaws of something that brings me joy. I didn't really know what to say at the time, but I knew that I didn't agree with what they were saying. It hurt pretty bad. A lot of my time has been dedicated to this specific thing and to listen to someone ridicule it made me extremely sad. This was the first time something like this had happened to me, and I didn't know what to do or how to respond.
But later that day, I realized that I shouldn't let it bother me. Why should it matter if someone else doesn't agree with what I believe in or what I do in my free time? I don't like Halloween, but that doesn't mean people who love Halloween should be offended by me not liking Halloween. Therefore, if someone shares their different opinion with me about something I love, I shouldn't be offended by it. Being offended won't get me anywhere or allow me to gain anything. I'm not entitled to be offended, as Brant Hansen says throughout his book, Unoffendable (I recommend reading it). I'm not going to dive into the arguments of this book, except for the fact that we're not entitled to any anger; "righteous anger" is a flawed term. It's not true. I shouldn't be offended by anything, let alone something so tiny.
In the end, I remembered this quote that I heard 100 times growing up:
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." - Dr. Seuss
The moral of this quote and what I'm getting at is to be who you are to do what makes you happy. If you love playing the violin, cool. If you love being the manager of the basketball team, awesome. If if you love skipping, fantastic! Keep skipping if that's what makes you happy. Find something that makes you happy and don't be embarrassed by it. Flaunt it.
