A friend made a comment that she has made before.

"I know that you don't listen to the news."

It probably stems from something I said back when there were three children in diapers monopolizing my time. That was an era in which the uprisings in my own home, meaning babies who would not sleep, made political upheaval on the other side of the planet irrelevant. But the Obama administration captured my interest deeply, and I began to count myself a citizen of this country again. My mother would have been pleased. She was as devoted to following government issues as she was to her grandchildren's birthdays. 

Still, the remark from my friend rankled me. While it is true that I do not have a commute that would easily make a radio broadcast part of my routine, I have subscribed to a daily newsletter written by a woman who has taught history at both MIT and Boston College. 

Yet I was hesitant to try to defend myself. What someone else thinks of me is not my purview. It sometimes seems that fluctuating winds of approval are part of the plan. 

Gardeners tell me that some plants fare better outside than in the protection of a controlled environment. Buffeting air forces their roots to go deeper, and the changes in temperature result in resilient crops. 

I get it. Contradictory voices can weaken my dependence on pleasing everyone. Which can have the surprising outcome of being more fruitful.