Vachon Imagined

A harsh tongue is known by the way it feels.

You can feel it within yourself, and you can feel it within others.

It is not something that simply exists “in the world.” It is also a possibility hidden within you—a possibility shaped and formed through your interactions, your experiences, and the life you have encountered.

Often, we do not even consciously realize what we are taking in.

But we are.

We are taking in life all the time.

Everything around us carries a presence. Your laptop, your body, the trees, the people you encounter—everything you see and experience is part of the energy of life moving around you.

You store these things.

You carry these things.

You become influenced by these things.

And if you doubt that, test it.

Spend time with harsh people. Spend time around those whose words are filled with criticism, anger, resentment, or judgment. Pay attention to the way it feels within you.

Then leave.

Step away from them.

Notice what happens.

Notice what returns.

I tend to test my own theories. I reflect on my experiences before I accept them as truth. I examine what life has shown me, what I have absorbed, and what I have allowed to shape me.

I have had to look honestly at the ways my experiences in law enforcement, the military, and life itself have influenced me.

The eagerness.

The striving.

The trying.

The desire to win.

The need to succeed, even when the pursuit of success came at the expense of others.

This is not an act of blame.

It is an act of revealing.

It is not an act of hiding in the shadows.

It is an act of accountability.

We cannot transform what we refuse to see.

If you want to improve the world, begin by accepting yourself.

Become comfortable with the person you are today.

Love that person first.

Because what you do not yet understand about yourself will eventually be revealed.

Whether you want it to or not.

And how you meet what is revealed says everything about you—not the world around you.

When it appears, meet it with compassion.

Because life will continue to reveal what is hidden within you.

You can count on life to ensure that you do.