We all have our own version of the truth – good or bad. And sometimes it takes a little nudge to get over any hang ups if your own version has its baggage.
My mom had held a grudge for years and years about her mother. She was out of touch and extremely angry when her mother never returned her letters.
It wasn’t until decades had passed that she was finally convinced that it was time to visit her mom half way across the globe, and to meet her second family. At this point, her mom had a brain tumor and was given only a half year to live. So it was a “make-peace and say good bye” type of trip.
Well, what my mom learned during her trip was something she would have never thought to be true. Her mother was raised orthodox Jew from Israel at a time when women were refrained from learning to read or write. So all this time, when my mother was stewing over her truth – that her mom was ignoring her letters containing written pleas to explain painful things from her past – she learned of another perspective. Her mother was illiterate and too ashamed to admit she couldn’t read or write.
Now, honestly, one could say that her mom should have had someone else read these letters and help her formulate a response, but they (my mom and her mom) both had skeletons in their past that they didn’t want to share. Pride was as large as the Red Sea. So it’s hard to say whether her mom was ever really aware of the contents of those letters.
My point is this: we all have our version of the truth. I have done some things in my past (namely blogging about bosses) that could or would seem to be painful if said bosses sought to learn who this Agent M person is, only to discover it was about them.
However, we all need an outlet. This has been mine for better or for worse. I need to write to process my thoughts, and I’d like to believe I’m also making a difference by sharing stories of my imperfect life that might trigger a laugh or tear. If it was intended to be at the expense of someone else, my approach would be entirely different.
Maybe we sometimes need to be reminded that there are always (at least) two sides to every story.
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