Letter 3 - Audacity

Good morning 2021,

Today let's talk about my encounters with audacity and provocation on your timeline. Too many to count. Yer, I get hot flashes just by thinking about them.

I'm a middle child. This comes with multiple super powers. I've discovered that one of them is the superpower to detect "tests", temptations and provocation. I can spot provocation from kilometres away. This ability helps me calm down, dodge the attempt and move on peacefully. Sometimes though, sometimes provocation comes at you at a whopping speed of 260 audacity per hour. Yes. Think about it. You blink and then there it is. Totally unprovoked. Nothing prepares you for that shock!

2021, you've made me aware that this is such an Achilles heel for my ego. When provocation comes at me sideways I am always, okay maybe mostly, tempted to tango with it. Show it that I too can kwasa kwasa. This year though, I just found myself dumbfounded. I promise you, I've frozen most times when the audacity of provocation waltzed in front of me. Dodged it like I did those plastic and pantyhose balls we used to hit each other with back in the day.

One of my biggest provocation this year was a build up of events. At their peak, I found myself asking myself if I had done anything to "deserve" such bs treatment. The answer was an immediate no. Calming down, however, took a while to do. I guess that's what happens to a lot of us. Doesn't it?

I came out of that reflection with this: people fight wars we know nothing about. Being the dumping site of their frustrations doesn't necessarily mean that we are the root of their inner conflicts.

2021, it feels like you and my ego went out on a long strall. It discovered that there is beauty in humility. Especially during moments when we feel entitled to anger...