20. Waking up: no more illusions
Waking up is to be aware of the illusions that we have created about ourselves and others. It is to understand that everything that happens is also fueled by us.
We need to start selecting the type of conflicts we should face and those we should just pass up. If we stop to think about the impact of a conflict in our lives in a year or two we may find out that it won’t influence in absolutely anything. Insisting in it would be just one of our controling ways.
Waking up also means to free ourselves from guilt, excess of demanding and self-criticism, of perfection necessity. Allowing ourselves to be more spontaneous and knowing that, by displeasing someone, it is possible to trust that the relationship history will be able to handle that deception.
Dealing with deception is good for relationships. The more we want to maintain perfection, the more we take distance from who we are and who the other is. And the worst thing is hearing the famous phrase: “I didn’t expect it from you”. Somebody was idealizing the other one. Trap!
