The Longest Lesson

There is a phrase around here that says something like, “Life is day at school: Some of the lessons are easy, and some of the lessons are hard.”

I went back into my email this morning to grab an old “Oprah/Deepak” meditation (because even though the last 21-day meditation “challenge” ended a while ago… the link still works!). The one this morning centered on the thought, “I attract that which I am.”

Sometimes I love this idea. I feel full of love and potential and vigor, and love that I am attracting that into my world and orbit.

Today, however, I heard that phrase, and my guts steeled a little. I attract that which I am.

This isn’t a tear-down of myself, but these few days, I’ve felt scared, inexpert, impulsive and mistaken. – I sent the blog that said I don’t want to “escalate” things with the 25 y.o. to the 25 y.o. … I wrote with it, There’s probably a better and more graceful way to let you know why I have to cancel Saturday’s date, but here.

And like pulling the pin on a grenade and handing it to him, I pressed send.

You can imagine this brought about a series of results and reactions, which I am now attempting to repair. Inexpertly. And perhaps unsuccessfully.

Yesterday morning, I did some writing about my motivations for doing this and had a conversation sharing this with someone else. It’s part of the reason I wasn’t able to write yesterday morning.

It feels sucky, is how it feels. It feels shitty to know that there are different ways to do things, and know you did it otherwise.

I feel sad because I (rightly) pulled the cord on a potential relationship, and I feel ashamed of how I did that.

It’s okay. I’m human and inexpert, and learning and growing and trying.

But, that also means I’m attracting into my world people who are the same – AND WHY CAN’T WE ALL JUST BE FUCKING PERFECT?? Be kind, and honest, and simple all of the time? It would make this “lesson” much easier, wouldn’t it?

Can’t we all just get A’s, and “go to the head of the class,” and all be valedictorians?

Can’t we all just stop stubbing our toes against our own fears and hardships and boogeymen?

Can’t we all just have lives where we feel confident, expert, proud, self-admiring, and kick-ass?

Why, in order to get to all the above feelings, must we go through all the stubbing first?

It sense no make.

And I’m tired of being a flailing human being. I’m tired of doing it almost right, of showing up almost fully. I’m tired of almost feeling whole and complete and awesome.

Sometimes, I do. I won’t lie. Sometimes, I really really do. Sometimes it’s for minutes, sometimes for hours. And even a few times, for days, I feel like I’m really walking on a yellow brick road toward Oz.

And then the trees start to throw apples at me.

I *get* that “this is all part of the process.” But sometimes the process sucks.

And in my attempts to wriggle out of discomfort, I land in a higher degree. By being dishonest, abandoning my truth, trying to make someone else deal with feelings that are uncomfortable or pave a way for me that is less rocky, well—I know it’s the very absolute best that, as fallible, learning, human, I can do today. But I wish, well, I wish I didn’t take that person and potential friendship down in the process.

(End of tantrum)

(...maybe.)