“He was the kind of person you lived around, not with”
A quote from a fictional book that really struck me. Especially the words “Lived around.” What a terrible place to be.
“Lived around” people are relationally avoided. People walk on eggshells around them, keep their guard up, measure their words carefully, limit their time spent, and don’t share too much. “Lived around” people still have interactions with others, just none with any deapth. They can’t be trusted or counted on because they’ve been deemed cranky, judgemental, self-righteous, graceless, void of empathy, and lacking compassion.
Sadly, many times “lived around” people are proud of how right they are about things, and are oblivious to the growing distance others are keeping from them. And no one is gonna tell them “Hey I’m not gonna be vulnerable with you anymore because you’re a jerk” because they don’t think it will help. They just “live around” them.
I wonder how many of us have people “living around” us at some level? It can be a spouse, coworkers, friends…Kids, especially teenagers, can resort to “living around” hypercritical parents. Tragic.
We can avoid being lived around by having the Lord work in our life — living by grace, showing kindness, getting over ourselves and beginning to lighten up.
Don’t let “lived around” be said of us, friends.