In
this post, Steve talks about social drag, or "what happens when you undergo a significant personal shift, yet everyone around you still treats you the same."
I've gone through a few shifts in my own reality over the past few years, which has caused me to look at things in a very different way. I know that many of you can relate. Because of this, social drag became a very real thing for me. I felt that, while I had this new perspective on things, many of my loved ones viewed it as a negative thing--namely my girlfriend of 4 years.
When I would undergo major "leaps" in my outlook, she would immediately notice and react in a negative way. Many times these shifts left me quite literally speechless. She would inquire as to "what was wrong with me," and I could really find no way to respond in a way that communicated what I was feeling. I would often respond very minimally, as I feared the way in which she would react to my change. I found that my fears were justified when I finally opened up and attempted to explain what I was going through. She took the changes as something that was going to change our relationship. A valid concern, I guess, but not the type of response that is going to make me more comfortable in opening up to her in the future.
I'm not looking to change her. I love her the way she is, but I can't help but feel like our relationship is inhibiting my ability to grow as an individual. She seems resistant to change--both in herself (if that's what she wanted), in me, and in our relationship.
Has anyone else been in a similar situation, and if so, how did you handle it?