Just Lisa

I was at my therapy appointment (honestly, we all need a therapist) and I was talking about my future career options.   Basically, my uncertainty that I wanted to be just a fill in the blank.  And then my brilliant and amazing therapist (for real) told me to say it differently.   Not as an adverb, but as an adjective.  If you don’t know the difference (it took me a minute, too) here is the difference:

just |jəst|

adverb:  barely; by a little: I got here just after nine | inflation fell to just over 4 percent | I only just caught the train.

adjective: based on or behaving according to what is morally right and fair: a just and democratic society | fighting for a just cause.

And in that simple (or incredibly wordy and weepy) exchange, I was no longer just anything and I was absolutely Just Lisa.  The air felt lighter and the pressure to have my career define my faith or my worth shifted away from what I do and focussed on who I am.

While I was on staff at a church, I had the amazing opportunity to work with people who are doing crazy great things in the world.  In a crazy turn of events, I was asked to write a blog for them about one the things I’m passionate about, justice and human trafficking.

I can choose to be just Lisa, unsure, small, and barely able Lisa. Or I can choose to be Just Lisa, capable, smart and brave enough Lisa to share this post and my thoughts on things. A change in perspective (and semantics) can do amazing things.  What words do you use to define yourself? Do they minimize your abilities, or do they empower you to have an impact where you are?

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