words of wisdom from madea.
Some people come into your life for a lifetime. Some only come for a season. You have to know which is which. And you're always going to mess up when you mix those seasonal people up with lifetime expectations. People get married to people they were only supposed to be with for a season and wonder why they're having so much hell in their life. That was a person that was supposed to come and teach them one thing. They didn't know it so they just fell in love and now they're wondering why they don't have peace anywhere they go. I put everybody who comes in my life in a category of a tree. Some people are like leaves on a tree. The wind blows and they're over here. They're unstable. It blows the other way and they're over there. When the season changes, they wither and die. They're gone. It's alright. Most people in the world are like that. They're just there to take from the tree. They're not there to do anything but take and give shade every now and then. That's all they can do. But don't get mad at people like that. That's who they are. They're never going to be anything. That's why they're put on this earth; to be what they are: a leaf. Some people are like a branch on that tree. You have to be careful with those branches too because they'll fool you. They'll make you think they're a good friend and they're really strong but the minute you step out there on them they'll break and leave you high and dry. But if you find yourself two or three people in your life that are like the roots at the bottom of that tree, you are blessed because those are the kind of people that aren't going anywhere. They're not worried about being seen. Nobody has to know that they know you. They don't have to know what they're doing for you. If those roots weren't there that tree couldn't live. A tree could have a hundred million branches but only a few roots down at the bottom to make sure it gets everything it needs. When you get yourself some roots hold on to them. But the rest of them, let it go. Let it go. Let folks go. Nobody said it was going to be easy but it'll get easier when you learn how to love yourself. When you get to a point in your life when you look at people and go, "Okay, wait a minute, you or me?" you will make a decision. I've never in my life just thrown anybody where I've said, "Look, don't bother me any more. Don't talk to me." I've never done that. What I do is tell them, "Look, this thing you're doing right here, that's going to cause a problem. You need to fix that because if we're going to be friends and we're going to be cool you have to fix that. And if you don't we're going to have an issue." If you see somebody fix it or they're even trying to fix it, that's somebody that cares. Keep those people around. That's a leaf that's trying to grow up and be something else. But if you tell somebody that what they're doing is hurting you and you need them to stop it and they keep doing it, they don't care. Move on. Let them go. No matter how much it hurts, let them go. You have to learn how to be by yourself. People have to learn how to be alone. I don't understand all these people saying, "I need somebody. Lord where's my man? Lord where's my woman?" That's crazy as hell. If you don't know how to be by yourself, what are you going do with somebody else? Stop praying about it. Shut up and wait. Go work on you. Hell, that's what that time is for; to get yourself together. I'd rather be in a corner by myself with a puppet and a gold fish and be happy than to be sitting around with somebody in my house when i'm wondering what the hell they're there for. You would be suprised with the things people put up with just to have somebody say they love them. That's crazy. I don't understand that. I can't live in disfunction. I'm sorry. I've come through too much and been through too much hell and highwater to let you come up in my adult life, when i'm supposed to be at peace, and give me all kinds of hell. There are only two places on this earth where you're going to have peace: the grave and your house. If you can't walk up in your own house and have peace, something's wrong.
