i think, sometimes, we think too much.
beauty is beautiful because one finds it so. is that not enough?
i think, sometimes, we think too much.
beauty is beautiful because one finds it so. is that not enough?
i was scheduled to do a “10 things”-list and some meme today – but something better, more profound transpired:
the last two days have been filled with such beauty, fun and laughter. the “graduation camp” with the kids from my buxiban (CRAM School) was an amazing experience! it’s amazing how alive i feel with them. even after having to sit up all night, comforting my one student who couldn’t sleep – i’m filled with an overwhelming sense of peace.
it is this sense of peace that opened me up to a universe of emotions tonight…
i popped in on facebook to load photos of the weekend – and browsed some of my friends’ latest albums. unexpectedly, i was hit by a wave of longing. a dear friend posted pics of his brother’s (my best male friend) farewell in Cape Town. him and his fiancée are headed for the UK to hack out a new future for themselves. seeing their beautiful, excited faces made me long to be there, in that moment, with them. i’m happy for them, excited about their future – but also sad. sad to see the final chapter of, what i should now call our “old” lives come to an end – even if it is via facebook.
it is no secret that i’ve loved him since the day we met – all of 8 years ago.
i remember it clearly – the moment we met: my new roommate and his friends picked him up at McDonalds, in a tiny, yellow VW CitiGolf. i was sitting relatively comfortably in the back seat – when i looked into the shining doorway of McD’s at an enormous silhouette coming our way. the memory has probably been colored by my mind – but he looked like a warrior emerging from a brilliant light. my first thought was something like: “he’d better never find out i’m gay – he’d beat the living crap out of me!”
i couldn’t have been further removed from the truth. the man who squeezed in next to me turned out to be the first, real shoulder to help carry my “burden”. and quite possibly, he was the one who finally lifted it from my shoulders and showed me that i’ve been carrying a blessing all those years. what was my burden became a source of magic. and through all the trials and tribulations i faced – he was always there to show me where the anchors were. even at the hight of my alcoholic madness – he brought peace. no wonder i love him.
no wonder she loves him.
i’m choked with a heavy sense of loss. this is me being selfish. but i want to own this feeling, these thoughts. i want to learn from them what i should’ve so many times before. i realise that, secretly, i’ve been waiting for him to love me back… romantically. the truth is that he does love me – and has loved me for years – as only true friends can.
i also know that this love – powerful as it is – is not the love we seek in a life partner. he has found his in a wonderful, talented and all ’round beautiful woman – and i know that i’m overjoyed! what is hurting isn’t letting go of him – its letting go of all the failed “relationships” i’ve been in whilst “waiting” for him. the sense of loss is rooted in my own realization that i’ve let so many opportunities slip by – and that i can’t blame this on alcohol. i chose those doomed relationships exactly because they were doomed. i wanted them to be doomed. i wanted to be rescued.
and now i am.
rescued.
it might not read the same way it feels, but writing this has thrown me around like a rag-doll in a tumble-dryer. and writing that last admission released me into the light.
he’s done it again!
oceans apart…
Dankie TP – dat jy nog altyd, weereens en steeds my baken was, is en sal wees. My hart is vanaand vol dankbaarheid – vir jou en vir Chanel. Mag jul liefde ook ‘n lig vir ander wees – en kom kuier gou.
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Here’s hoping we make it onto today’s roll…
Yesterday I listed my “just for today” goals.
Here is how it went, in retrospect:
Yesterday I almost managed not to stress about “tomorrow”. If banks would stop calling me and reminding me that my credit card payments are over due (of which I am painfully aware)- I might do better today.
Yesterday I was happy – until my Mom’s bad spell at Aquarobics. No-one’s exactly sure what happened – but it looks like another heart attack.
Yesterday I tried to adjust myself to what is. When I realised I was trying to adjust everything to my own desires, I reminded myself to let go – and let God.
Yesterday I strengthened my mind by attempting designs that pushed my skills. I almost tried to read Franz Kafka’s “The Trial” again – but didn’t.
Yesterday I only exercised my soul in one-and-a-half ways:
I did somebody a good turn, but got found out.
I only did one thing I didn’t want to – taking a lady home after Aquarobics.
I did, however, manage not to show anyone that my feelings were hurt.
Yesterday I was agreeable. I looked pretty well in a white, weather-appropriate outfit (thankfully we live and work on the coast). I talked low and with a smile, acted courteously and refrained from criticising anything – or anyone. (Scratch that – I did go off about Stormhoek…)
Yesterday I almost had a program. I didn’t write it down – and didn’t follow it exactly, though I did try to save myself from hurry. Indecision still plagues me though. And the indecision is about choices I have to make about my future. (See point one re: not tackling my whole life problem.)
Yesterday I had a quiet half hour all by myself. It was quiet outside, but noisy inside. I need to learn how to relax. During this half hour, I tried to get a better perspective of my life, but ended up going on tangents about the choices I just referred to.
Yesterday I ended up being afraid. Not of enjoying what is beautiful, but of screwing it up. I’m not sure what I’m giving to the world… and it feels like the world is giving me a headache.
It’s lunch time now. Maybe I’ll do better this afternoon?
(This morning has gone to the dogs already.)
Just for today I will try to live through this day only – and not tackle my whole life problem at once. I can do something for twelve hours that would appall me if I had to keep it up for a lifetime.
Just for today I will be happy. This assumes what Abraham Lincoln said, that: “Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be”, is true.
Just for today I will adjust myself to what is – and not try to adjust everything to my own desires. I will take my “luck” as it comes – and fit myself to it.
Just for today I will try to strengthen my mind. I will study. I will learn something useful. I will not be a mental loafer. I will read something that requires effort, thought and concentration.
Just for today I will exercise my soul in three ways:
I will do somebody a good turn and not get found out. (If anybody knows of it, it will not count.)
I will do at least two things I don’t want to do – just for exercise.
I will not show anyone that my feelings are hurt. They may be hurt, but today I will not show it.
Just for today I will be agreeable. I will look as well as I can, dress becomingly, talk low, act courteously, criticise not one bit, not find fault with anything – and not try to improve or regulate anybody except myself.
Just for today I will have a program. I may not follow it exactly but I will have it. I will save myself from two pests: Hurry and Indecision.
Just for today I will have a quiet half hour all by myself – and relax. During this half hour, I will try to get a better perspective of my life.
Just for today I will be unafraid. Especially I will not be afraid to enjoy what is beautiful – and to believe that as I give to the world, so the world will give to me.
A woman has an affair during the day while her husband is at work. Her nine-year-old son comes home unexpectedly, sees the illegal lovers and hides in the bedroom cupboard to watch. Then the woman’s husband unexpectedly comes home.
She hides her lover in the cupboard, not realizing that her little boy is in there already.
The little Boy says: “Dark in here.”
The Man says: “Yes, it is.”
Boy: “I have a soccer ball, do you want to buy it?”
Man: “No, thanks.”
Boy: “My dad’s outside, I’ll call him if you don’t buy it!”
Man: “OK, how much?”
Boy: “R250-00.”
A few weeks later it happened again and the boy and the lover were in the cupboard together again.
Boy: “Dark in here”.
Man: “Yes, it is.”
Boy: “I have soccer boots.”
The Man, remembering the last time, asks the boy: “How much?”
The Boy says:”R750-00.”
The Man says: “Fine, I will buy them.”
A few days later, the Father says to the boy: “Grab your ball and boots, let’s go outside and have a game.”
The Boy says: “I can’t, I sold them for R1000.”
The Father says: “That’s terrible to overcharge your friends like that… R1000 is way more than those two things cost. I’m going to take you to church and make you confess your sins.” They go to church and the father makes the little boy sit in the confession booth and he closes the door.
The Boy says: “Dark in here.”
The Priest says: “Don’t start that sh!t again! This is my church and not your father’s house!”
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I got this joke in my inbox today – gave me a good giggle. But the punch-line bugged me, somehow. I tried to shrug it off and get some work done – but the gnawing in my mind kept getting worse.
I finally gave up and tried to figure out what was going on. Then it hit me:
“This is My church and not your Father’s House…”
Now I’m not going to make a soap-box moment of this – but I realized that this sentence holds the key to a great revelation. I’m still hacking at the lock, but it feels like most of the unhappiness in the world is caused by a similar mentality:
This is MY church and NOT your Father’s House.
This is MY presidency, MY company, MY rules…
The answer to serenity, peace and harmony is, of course, the antithesis:
“This is NOT my church, but your Father’s House.”
May God, as you understand God, reclaim the Place you need from those who deny you yourself.