I want to sing like the birds sing, not worrying about who hears or what they think.
I want to sing like the birds sing, not worrying about who hears or what they think.
RUMI
Do you really care what other people think about you?
No matter how impervious we might believe that we are to what other people think about us, each and every one of us, is relatively susceptible to these considerations.
We might convince ourselves that this is not the case, but all it takes is one incredibly unflattering comment by someone else and in that moment, we learn how much we really do care, and how disappointed we are to discover that someone is hosting negative feelings towards us.
May I offer the concept that everybody is going to think what they think anyway and, as a result, wouldn’t it be a much healthier position to quickly become unconcerned and unmoved by what anyone else’s opinions of us are?
If you are feeling a deep-seated joy in the things that you are doing, isn’t your own internal satisfaction sufficient? Does it really require approval or acknowledgment from others?
There are so many permutations to that statement… it can be torn apart and argued from numerous angles. The artist in any medium is always, presumably, looking for an audience. An audience gives them the feedback and satisfaction that what they are creating is appreciated and enjoyed by others.
Concurrently you could make a case for someone that is doing something that is incredibly harmful to others, in which case, you would argue that what other people think of them should be very important, such that they are Influenced or even forced to stop doing whatever it is that they are doing.
But in the broadest term of this particular aphorism, when you are feeling delight and joy in your pursuits and endeavors, wouldn’t it be so much more fulfilling to completely let go of every fear or trepidation about what others may or may not be feeling about what you are doing?
In that release of concern, you are empowered to immerse yourself even further in the creative exploration or endeavor that you are pursuing, and perhaps achieve even greater results.
The ability to have 100% artistic freedom in all that we do, and all that we express, enables us to dig as deep within ourselves as we are able, to manifest every aspect of that which we are feeling. Others will either find their appreciation of this, or not, but in either case, the metric by which we are gauging that which we are doing, must stem from our own internal barometer.
When you are able to live your life through those filters, you become considerably more free to utilize your personal gifts to their greatest potential.
Happy Monday!
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