Marie, here.
Most people are raised to believe that family is important. Blood is thicker than water. Sure, blood may be thick, but you can certainly drown in it much faster. From where I’m standing, blood bogs you down with its weight. Water is by far stronger. It can take a jagged rock and wear it smooth. It can flood an area and move heavy objects around. It can fall as rain and wash the world clean. The water in my life has done me more good than the oozing blood.
Cutting off ties with family is often met with backlash from others. We are brainwashed to believe our family will always have our best interest at heart. Genetically, they should. You can often feel more compelled to protect a family member than a stranger because instincts scream at us that we must keep our genetic line going. But this modern world proves otherwise. Some bloodlines should just be snuffed out.
Strangers have treated me far better than family. Friends have supported me in my darkest hours while relatives were silent. Blood ties mean nothing when that person is toxic or abusive.
Let’s stop pretending that being related to someone is more important than the way we are treated by them. It isn’t. If I had to choose friends over family, I choose friends who have become my real family. Who have been there through thick and thin with no real obligation. They aren’t there because they feel they have to be, but because they choose to be. These are the people I can love who will love me in return, unconditionally.
Blood is weaker than the raging forces of water.
Hollow Hills 