Compromise. Embrace it.

Compromise. It is one of the most necessary and determining acts in this life. It is the soul of the give and take relationship people have with  one another. We all make compromises every single day; sometimes without even realizing it. It can be one of the most difficult, yet most natural acts of our daily lives. Compromise is crucial to the flow of life. Without it, we would all be trapped in a dark and selfish world in which we refused to give selflessly to others for a common good; therefore, bereaving our lives of the light that shines from spiritual gifts offered by others. I believe it is safe to say that compromising with one another is a good thing. When we stand stubborn in our ways, we often miss the chance to let something or someone into our life that brings forth enrichment. We should always strive to be open to compromise.

However, lately I have been doing a lot of thinking about the relationship of compromise with ones self. Sometimes, we find ourselves in a situation in which, in order to remain stable, we have to compromise who we are. I say we have to, but I suppose I should say that we choose to. We have all been guilty of it at some point in our lives. It's amazing to me how easy it is for us humans to compromise ourselves and our values. After all, we spend our entire lives becoming who we are, through many trials and tribulations; we question ourselves, we travel along beaten and unbeaten paths trying to figure it out. We choose the things that we believe in, and we sometimes face adversity for being passionate and standing our ground, but in the end, it makes us who we are. Then, something or someone comes along, and suddenly we feel the need to compromise those beliefs and values in order to fit them into our lives. I've learned throughout my life, that the benefits from compromising who I am are very short-lived. Eventually, the real version catches up to the  compromised version of ourselves. Another life lesson learned...

I don't think that we ever stop learning about who we are. There are times when I feel like a walking contradiction. I can be grounded and spontaneous all in the same breath. So, it can be confusing. Is this me compromising myself, or is this just life teaching me something about myself that has always been there, but below the surface? Compromising ourselves can often lead to the feeling that we've lost our sense of dignity, but I think it can also lead to realizing that maybe we weren't compromising our self after all; we were going against our grain, and as a result, learning something new about our self. So, as long as our dignity is in tact and we feel good about ourselves...I say, embrace it. We all have different sides to ourselves, and sometimes it takes a new job, a new city or a complete stranger to bring that other side out. Live it....


It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are. -e.e. cummings