"I realized it's not ok," my friend told me over a coffee. She had wanted to send her daughter to Florida to visit family for spring break and the airfare was too expensive. When she told her daughter, the daughter responded, "it's ok". After thinking about it, my friend decided it wasn't ok. Her story made me realize how often I, and people I know, put up with things that aren't ok.
My friend's daughter, and the whole family for that matter, rarely went on big adventures due to the physical limitations of one family member. Hearing her daughter acknowledge the reality of their family situation with "it's ok" sparked an energy in my friend to question what is really ok.
Is it ok to continually be bound by the same set of limitations? Who's responsibilty is each person's experiences and happiness? What are the real limitations? My friend called her allies and got on the Internet, determined to find a less expensive flight that would take good care of her young daughter. In challenging what was ok, she removed the real and imagined barriers and made it truly ok.
That same night I found myself saying "it's ok" to the lack of respect and appreciation I was shown for a gesture of kindness. Then, thinking of my friend, I said "it's not ok". How often do you make it ok by agreeing to less than what you need? Is it ok to be in a job that diminishes you? Is it ok to forgo your dreams because everyone says it's not possible? Is it ok to be held back because the economy isn't ideal? Is it ok to not be noticed, appreciated and loved?
Part of being positive is creating your best possible world and presenting that world with your best possible self. It's not only ok to be happy, free and joyful ...it is necesary. I know I will be closely examining what really ok in my life. Thanks, friend, for sharing your story with me.