Standing up sometimes means standing alone.

There are three kinds of standing up.

1) You can stand up from sitting.

2) You can stand up for yourself against those who would take advantage of you or otherwise bring negativity into your life.

3) You can stand up for what you believe in.

Just to clarify, we'll be discussing the last two kinds of standing up. (But just remember that if you are doing number one, don't do it too fast, especially if you're over the age of 30 and/or suffer from frequent light-headedness.)

It's very easy to tell people to stand up. Sometimes, though, standing up means that you often stand alone. But if you really want to think about it, not standing up is very lonely, too. For a long time, I never stood up for anything. I'd been put down so much that I never believed I could stand up and there were very few times when people stood up for me when I needed it.  For me, that was a very lonely time as well.

That's in the past now. What I've realized since then is that when you stop being that person that people can walk all over, when you stop being that dumping ground, sometimes you lose a little bit of the relationship that you've had with them. In some cases you lose the entire relationship.

Standing up for what you believe in can be equally terrifying. If you stand your ground, you can really damage some relationships and put yourself out on a limb, only to have people spew on you for exercising your right to state your opinion.

This is why it is so hard for a lot of people to grasp what it really means to stand up. When you stand up, someone will always be hurt or offended. That's why when you go out on that limb, you have to be prepared for it to snap and be ready to stand your ground if it does. There are so many people who either can't do that or they have been so wronged that they snap the limb themselves.

To my friends who are not only currently standing up for themselves but also standing up for what they believe in: Please don't feel like you're alone. It's heartbreaking, I know, but you have so many people standing behind you that want to see you through this, even if you don't see them.

And to anyone else battling negativity and discord in their own lives, my best wishes to you. I wish I could stand behind you, too, but there's only so much standing I can do. (Bad back, ya know.) :) Just remember that if you're fighting the good fight, I'm right there with ya in spirit.

Negativity wins when people don't stand up. The world can't change if we keep our mouths shut. Ask yourself: Would you want someone to stand up for you if you were in their situation?  If that answer is yes, then do some standing up of your own.

Peace, love, and courage,

Pamela