JJV's Offs

Hello everyone!

Welcome to a new opus of "JJV Offs"!

"Attachment is the great source of illusions. Reality can only be reached by those who are detached."

We often feel held back when we listen to what other people say. When I first started the store, I listened a lot to what people said and often gave it too much importance.

Yes, yes, even to people who only had unconstructive or even clearly destructive opinions to offer me. And yes, I was still somewhat naive when I opened the store over seven years ago now.

I did what I could at the time, based on the childhood wounds I still carried within me... I learned that listening to what anyone says, especially people who don't want the best for you, is destabilizing. I tend to give the benefit of the doubt a lot to people I meet the first time. I quickly learned the hard way that it's a pretty harsh response to oneself when faced with people who use others for their own ends...

Yes, yes, I know I was naive... Some will say that I'm bad now, good for them. If they need me to be the bad guy in the story so they don't have to face their evil deeds, so be it. I was tired of being helpful and friendly in the face of people who want to harm you. I've recently managed to detach myself from people's gaze, and believe me, I'm happier on a daily basis.

I truly believed when I moved to Vaison with my husband that people would be cooler and more tolerant. That's really not how I would describe some people in Vaison...

There are definitely some people here who are unbearable. Adults who harass and mock for no reason (thankfully, otherwise it would cost them dearly :) ). People who need to belittle and talk insidiously about others because when they talk about their lives, no one listens to them...

I suffered greatly for several years from these malicious people, for their own pleasure (and yes, rejoicing in the misfortune of others seems to be their favorite pastime). I wanted to give more of my time and energy, thinking that it was me who wasn't giving enough or wasn't tolerant enough.

But there's nothing good you can do with such people except detach yourself and not worry about them. Detachment is more than necessary if you live among these kinds of disgusting characters.

So I chose to detach myself, which allows me to have more time for all the wonderful people who live in Vaison and its surroundings. These are people who see relationships as an exchange and not as the consumption of a person, as we would with objects.

I no longer have time and energy to give to people who don't deserve it, but I will always have time for honest, kind people ready to create a real human connection.

I always look forward to seeing you in the store every day and at events to share good times with you, and that's not going to change anytime soon. ;)

Good day and good game ;)