Things That Don't Fit Together ...

"Things that don't fit together can't stay together."

My friend Gabby said this to me, and I found myself scribbling it down because it was simple and good and true.

How many parts of our lives do we mash together, trying to make things fit?

How many times have we found ourselves in a job or a relationship, squirming and trying to change in order to fit our role?

If you're like me, you're probably nodding your head. "Oh, wow. I do that all the time."

Sometimes that's okay.

We, as people, need to adapt to certain situations. "My way or the highway" is a lonely, lonely road.

But there are other times that, after repeated bouts of discomfort, we need to realize hammering the square peg into the round hole is just stupid. Sometimes, the answer is to find the square hole instead.

I believe the actress Alfre Woodard once said something to the effect of, "Don't get mad. Just go where they are speaking your language."

I like that. Sometimes, you travel and speak the language of a different land. But, sometimes your tribe is what you need, and that isn't always the village you wake up in.

I'm not saying don't put yourself in uncomfortable or hard-to-fit situations. I'm not saying don't try.

What I'm saying is pay attention to what actually fits and to what you're forcing to fit.

Because things that don't fit together can't stay together.