Peace Is a Strange Thing

I’ve come to realize that the life I was building was very one-sided from my perspective. It wasn’t a life that would have given me the lasting peace, happiness, and fulfillment I want for myself.

That realization didn’t happen overnight. It happened over hundreds of little moments where I kept hoping things would change…and eventually realizing they weren’t going to.

Sometimes it wasn’t the big things that made everything clear. It was the little moments…the hilariously uneducated blog comments filled with unearned confidence, misplaced certainty, and casual narcissism…that quietly reminded me I was trying to build a future in an environment where peace was never going to thrive.

None of that erases the good.

There were adventures I’ll always smile about, memories I’ll always appreciate, and moments that were genuinely wonderful. Those were real too.

I don’t hate anyone involved. I genuinely hope life brings every one of them exactly what they’re looking for, and perhaps exactly what they deserve. I sincerely wish them well.

What’s been far more interesting is watching the aftermath.

Apparently, choosing peace is offensive to people who’ve built their entire personality around conflict.

Some people are so committed to playing the victim that accountability feels like a personal attack. They’d rather spend their evenings anonymously rewriting someone else’s story than taking ownership of their own.

It’s fascinating, really.

Imagine having so little going on in your life that your hobby becomes obsessing over someone else’s life and cheering for chaos from the sidelines. Although, i do appreciate the metrics boost. 🤷‍♀️😂

Then again, people who thrive on drama usually need an audience.

Meanwhile, I’m over here planning new adventures, sipping wine while listening to the waves, meeting new people, dusting off my passport (it’s about to get very, very busy), and enjoying something I hadn’t realized I’d been missing.

Peace.

Not performative peace.
Not temporary peace.
Actual peace.

Looking back, I didn’t lose the life I wanted.

I avoided the life that would’ve slowly cost me my peace.

Sometimes the greatest blessing isn’t getting what you wanted.

It’s realizing…before it’s too late…that you were walking straight toward something that would’ve made you miserable.

I truly did dodge a bullet.

Turns out peace doesn’t require everyone to agree with your story.

It just requires deciding you’re done living in theirs.