Have you ever second guessed yourself?Thought maybe you misread a situation or missed a que that was obvious to everyone else but you?  Ok, so we all have these doubts now and then. It may even be a healthy trait to be able to balance your own perceptions with input from the world around you.  Besides, we can’t escape the bias our own experiences leave us with over time.  “Checking-in” with others for input, feedback, a second opinion, to get a fuller perspective, etc are ways I try to gain such balance.  However, I make an assumption when seeking the wisdom of others.  The assumption being that the individual has obtained a level of my trust and respect.

Have you ever had someone you trusted make you doubt your own sense of right and wrong? Your sense of what is real and what is not? Perhaps you always trusted what your eyes saw and your ears heard until one day a loved one urged you to realize that maybe – just maybe – you have been wrong all along.  Wrong about everything, not just incorrect about a thing or two, but absolutely wrong about how the world sees you and how you see the world.  Wrong about your history, the meaning of your life experiences, even the strength of your beliefs.

A dilemma surfaces, one that reaches beyond how to just disregard the assertions; but how to negotiate the relationship without losing yourself.  It is moments like that when it is vital to search deep within yourself and find the truth.  How do you know what is true? Lean on the foundations upon which your life is built. For me this is my faith, my mom, my son, and my closest friends.

We may never know why someone would try to make us doubt ourselves.  What could be gained when one person strips the self-confidence from another?  So much can be lost. Why would someone betray the trust placed in them by turning another’s world upside down in such a way? I don’t know. I wish I did.

What I do know is that there are degrees of just about everything. That life is hard and at the same time it is full of opportunity. There is opportunity in pain as much as there is in joy, perhaps even more. We just have to remain open to life’s hidden blessings.