Monday, September 12, 2016

So my father died, and I was just thinking....

I got something HUGE out of sitting in the silence just now.


I was on my deck listening to the breeze, wind chimes, and my wonderful miniature wind gong.  My father died a couple of days ago.  I was taking a breather from an emotional few weeks and an emotional data dump into another solar system (well, that's what it felt like) that I just released on Facebook a couple hours earlier.  My dear friend, Moe, sent me a note of encouragement about my Facebook post (data dump) and my previous blog post ("The Dark Soul and Little Spitfire"), and I stated something to him about how many of my blog posts have a distinct topic, but are vague or esoteric in nature.  That is by design -- no accident, because it is kind of like a song.  You know how a song means different things to different people?  I might hear a song one way, and you hear it differently, or it has a different meaning for me than you.  That is the reason I am vague and casual in my blog posts many times.  I want the topic to be clear, but the parameters to be set by the reader.  This way it can have many meanings, and the meaning/s can even change over time as our thinking and experiences evolve as well.

I think my style is effective for the purposes I mentioned above.  However, here's the meat.  What I got while sitting in the silence was how extremely ineffective it has been for me in my real, in-living-color life.  I am a natural introvert, and a reluctantly-learned extrovert; so this is a tragic, perfect fit.  There are times in life when diplomacy is most certainly called for, and a lack of it can cause more harm than good.  There are times when tact and/or caution are necessary.  But I see how tip-toeing around myself in order to avoid injury to others down my path of personal healing has only prolonged and deepened the injuries.  I am not saying one should just bulldoze over people and their feelings, but I AM saying that I have forgotten who I am to myself.  I have forgotten to treat myself like the one and only me that I will ever, ever, EVER have.  Why should I not treat myself the way I try to treat others whom I revere, and the way that I advise them to treat themselves?  So rather than opening myself up to personal things, I am... VAGUE.  And if I want to get deep with it, that's not really an honest way of being.

Now, don't get me wrong.  I can talk and TALK about all kinds of things.  I have been told more than a few times that I talk too much!  But if you're one to really pay attention, you would notice that next to none or absolutely ZERO of what I was talking about had anything very personal or vulnerable about me in it.  If you feel this is not true about me, then consider yourself one of the chosen extreme few.  That's not bragging, by the way, it's part of today's epiphany.

I also get that my vague style of communicating personal things is a protection.  I am sure as I am Irish that it is my own training.  All the way to his death, if you didn't agree with my father, you were going to pay.  So, I mastered "vague."  Hell, I JUST said to my husband THIS very morning after I posted my data dump, "I will probably never fully trust anyone." <blink> Wow. Way to go...  Team... ➟➟ of ONE!  How convenient for someone who wants to stay stuck in the beige realm.  (Is that taupe or ecru?  No one really knows.)

I will remember to revere 
myself,
and take care of 
my one and
only 
ME! 
Finally, what I got in the silence today is that by being vague about how I feel, or stepping around things, as my cousin and I talked about, rather than going through them, I'm setting myself and others up to be nuked or data dumped on -- like today.  I have lots of feelings and words just swarming around dying to get out!  So if I pressure cook them without releasing the valve at the appropriate time, "She's gonna blow, Captain!"  What I said in my post on Facebook, I meant.  My regret is that I didn't say it all sooner and handle it under the category of self-care rather than anger and hurt.

An Aside:  I just took a break from writing this blog post to read some of  the comments on Facebook.  After I posted my blast, I purposely ignored it for a while.  I was fully expecting some cricket noises, maybe a few thumbs-up, and possibly some negative returns.  But I am in tears right now instead at the support I have received.  This is what happens when you put yourself on an island in your mind instead of sharing.  You begin to think you are alone in your feelings and experiences.  I am touched by the kind and caring comments, as well as some private messages, text messages, and phone calls I have received in response.  I hate to sound cliché, but my mind is just blown.  It is time for me to do the work of someone who is ready to move forward from where I've been stuck.

I am sad.  I am tired.  My head hurts.  I feel a little less angry today, but I see I have a ways to go, and I fully understand it is totally up to me to find my way to peace.  This is a journey I have to take alone.  I don't mean that in that lonely, sad way -- like "I don't want anyone around" way, or "There is no one to help me" lugubrious way.  It just is what it is!  Some lessons and transformation are truly and simply a journey for one.

So, what am I going to do about this revelation?  What am I going to do next?  I'm going to buy more wind chimes, that's for sure.  Those things are MAGIC... like Tinkerbell!  For sure I need to be responsible.  What that looks like is no longer allowing people to abuse my time, which includes family gossip and anything or anyone that just doesn't feel good or right, or anything that puts me in the position of aligning myself with someone that consistently and purposely makes others feel bad.  After that... I need to stay present and conscious, and I'll just keep breathing (both directions), learning, and sharing.  

Stay with me.  I'm sure my ride is not over.

ღ Love yourself.

Little Spitfire
I would like to go back
and hug her so tight!
Debora Lynn

P.S.  
"Follow" my blog if you want to keep up with me (button on the far right side).  Some of my posts are going to change tone.  When it makes sense, you're going to see more clearly who I'm writing about. 


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