The Courage to Be Judged

Today I went grocery shopping. That might sound ordinary, but for me it wasn’t.

Usually, the aisles feel heavy. My chest tightens, my mind races. I imagine every stranger’s glance is a judgment. I move stiff, like I have to defend my existence in the frozen foods section.

But today felt… different.

After months of reading, listening, reflecting, applying, and healing—I realized something simple but freeing: whether someone likes me, dislikes me, or silently judges me, it has nothing to do with me. That’s all them.

I don’t have to carry their projections as my truth.

It feels like stepping into a new skin. Like holding the courage to be disliked, but also the courage to simply be.

And for once, grocery shopping wasn’t war. It was peace.