HOW TO BEAD A ROGUE ELEPHANT The Musings Of A Jewelry Designer: Relatives

As I pursue the pathways which have led me to my Rogue Elephant, for the most part, I feel free. I feel I can take responsibilities for the choices I am making, whether to go this way or that. I’m on that road to explore, to critique, to reflect, to ponder, to plan, to strategize, to move on. I feel within myself a purpose in life. This is all good. And right. I feel I have the tools to overcome the unfamiliar and the unknown. Clear. Confident. Not cocky.

However, during most of my childhood, youth and young adult life, my relationships with my relatives sometimes interfered. Irritated. Distracted. Distorted. Got me frustrated. Made me scared. Made me angry.

They are relatives. This is different than relationships with strangers or friends or colleagues. I too easily allowed my relatives to get inside my head. Too easily to be too sensitive and responsive to their own values, beliefs and expectations they placed on me. It made it difficult for me to stay on that path. And search for my Rogue Elephant.

It is that blood connection. That almost primal need for family, clan, tribe. You can’t pull away so easily. Distance yourself from them. Even if you barely know them. Even if you do not share their beliefs and values. Even if you detest them.