(ThyBlackMan.com) Greetings Brothers.
Hopefully, this letter finds you in good spirits. I know we haven’t spoken in a while. My apologies. I haven’t been in the most talkative mood. More so, I’ve been in my thoughts. Trying to figure out my next move, however that does not excuse my lengthy absence. I’m not making excuses or giving justifications; merely sharing with you what’s been going on in my life. During this hiatus, I’ve been spending a great deal of time in the park and the bookstore. The gym as well, but mostly the park and the bookstore. They’ve always been great places for me to live with my thoughts. There was an incident at the bookstore that served as the inspiration behind this letter.
I was sitting in the corner of the bookstore typing. Nothing specific just jotting down whatever came to mind. A man and a woman sat down at a table not far from mine. I initially didn’t pay a terrible amount of attention to them. That quickly changed. The woman became irate. She was yelling and using profanity. I don’t know what the man said, but he had really triggered her. He just sat there with a blank look on his face. I think he was embarrassed and shocked at what was transpiring. Before she walks away, she says “you haven’t changed. There’s nothing about you that makes me think you’d be a good father or partner. You’re not good enough for us.” The guy didn’t respond. He just sat there.
I felt bad for the guy. He was publicly humiliated. Rejection is never a good feeling, but add being told you’re not good enough by someone you care about. Ouch! The guy eventually left. I feel he had to pick the pieces of his ego up before he could leave. I silently wished him good luck as he left.
After the ordeal I resumed typing. The first sentence I typed was ‘Are you good enough.’ I paused and asked myself if I was good enough. Good enough for what? Good enough for all the things I say I want out of life; peace, happiness, healthy, love, respect, and all that other good stuff. You know what I realized? I realized that I wasn’t. Because if I were good enough, I would have those things. I realized that being good enough means you’ve put in the necessary work and effort to achieve what you say you want. For instance, let’s say you want a six-pack. You want all the perks and benefits that come along with having it, however every day you eat fast food, you don’t work out, and you don’t drink water. You don’t deserve to have a six pack. You’re not good enough for a six pack. You are in fact good enough for that beer belly.
With all the empowerment movements that have gone on throughout the years; we feel that we are good enough for whatever we desire. These movements have positively affected our self-esteem, however there are components that are missing. The part that tells us we must put forth the necessary work to obtain the things we want and the part that says we aren’t good enough for those things if we are unwilling to put forth the necessary effort. Brothers hopefully this message inspires some of you to work harder and become more of your ideal version of yourself.
Peace and Blessings.
Staff Writer; Christian Johnson
One may also connect with this brother over on Instagram; CJTheWriter.