I think one of the worst feelings a person can have is being forced to watch a loved one go down a rabbit hole. Either with conspiracy theories or some other issues that they’ve come up with in their lives. People who used to be active and productive members of society, you suddenly begin to see them doing something else totally, and it only gets worse with time. And because of your close proximity to them, it will seem like you’re watching it happen in real time.
And it gets even worse when the people in question refuse to see the predicament that they’re putting themselves in. They refuse to accept the advice that comes their way, even going as far as to see friends and family as the enemy, all because of their new way of life. Eventually, it will always get to the point where you simply stop caring about them.
Sadly, this is something that happens in just about every sphere of life. And it’s also one that I witnessed closely a few years back. When I was still staying in the East, hustling for admission, I had a close friend who joined a network marketing company. A pretty popular one at that. Honestly, I don’t know the kind of brainwashing that happened there, because coming from someone who also did a short stint as a network marketer for a different company, this one was next level.
Soon after she joined the company, word started spreading of how she had changed. Almost overnight. She started being rude to her parents, especially her parents. She kept talking about how they were against her progress and didn’t want what was best for her. She would demand huge sums of money just to fund the supposed business, but nothing paid off. And when they demanded accountability from her, they became the enemy!
When the parents saw that she was only getting worse, and it could all be traced to the company, they barred her from going there. And what did she do? She simply packed up her bags and left the house. And not just that, she blocked everyone who knew her from there. Even her supposed best friend chop blocking! The parents did everything they could to find her, but no one knew how to. She had totally cut everyone off.
They eventually involved the police, but since she wasn’t kidnapped and she willingly left the house, and since she was also an adult, there was no legal reason to track her down. With every day that passed, her family was losing their minds. Later on, the parents learned to move on. While they were sad, they accepted that they couldn’t put their lives on hold because of one daughter, when they had other kids to take care of.
And the reason I’m remembering this today is that I’m just finding out that the lady had returned home after over five years of being AWOL. She had simply come home with a bag, like someone who had gone to the market and returned home. According to what I was told, she wasn’t given a grand welcome or anything. Her family was not really moved, they simply showed her to her room and continued with life. If the lady could stay away with no information or anything for all those years, then she definitely didn’t deserve any form of feeling from them. It was as if the entire family had moved on from her. And the only reason they allowed her back in was because, in the end, she was still their blood, and she had a room in the house.
When you go online, you’ll come across people who have experienced similar things. Sometimes, it’s this same network marketing company, other times, it’s religion. Hell, it can even be for fraudulent cases. And you watch helplessly as this new way of life takes over their identity and form, they become more and more about it, totally disregarding everything they once held dear.
But then, what can you do? If people show you that they don’t want your love, you can’t force it, na. You simply move on. Life happens. And I guess that’s something we really need to remember. While we’re being stupid and foolish with the beautiful bonds and relationships around us, taking people for granted, people can only take so much rubbish from us. Eventually, they’ll move on. Just pray that by the time you come to your senses, it’s not too late.
Thank you for reading. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below, I would love to know what you’re thinking. Till we meet in the next post.
N.B: All images used in this post are mine. The thumbnail was designed using Canva.
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