Jump in...What Are You Waiting For?

So...the last 2 days at Snap Snap have been rather slow, as they usually are after a holiday weekend, which has afforded me time to mark down some things, organize, clean, play on the computer and re-do the window display...I've been redecorating a bit for the upcoming fall season...

And thinking.

I've been doing a lot of thinking.

Anyone who knows me can attest to the fact that when I get sucked up in my head, sometimes it's an interesting adventure (that's a nice way of putting that I get loony without enough outside stimulation and usually start to question things in my life)

Having the shop be quiet is also a great time to connect with various people that come in to shop...although, I've always said that shopping is sometimes secondary with the people that come in to Snap Snap, and a lot of people like to come in for the conversation. I didn't know if you knew, but I also have used books amidst all the clothing and accessories, in the form of all sorts of alternative subjects.

A loyal customer came to the counter today with her selections of books and we started chatting. The long and short of it is that she's gone through a divorce after being married for a long time, and she's just getting ready to think about being in a relationship again...so, she's going to read about it.

Really?

Read about it?

I thought the best practice to be in a relationship was actually to. be. in. a. relationship.

This gave me pause. I mean, you can talk about it and read about it all you want...but, you really need to jump in at some point. Don't you? Is this something that only divorced people or jilted lovers go through...this need to "try to do it better/differently" than we just did? But, why would we hold ourselves back?

Fear?

It's amazing how we're all trying our hardest not to get hurt (even though we do some of our best growing and stretching when we have been) We seek advice from "experts" or friends just because something we did in our past didn't work out the way we wanted it to, we didn't get the end we were after, and all of a sudden we can't trust ourselves anymore (or maybe we never learned to in the beginning...or perhaps Americans just have a lot of time on our hands to read about stuff)

And, then...we do everything in our power to protect ourselves.

From what...life?
Pain?

And does that in turn stunt our capacity to receive joy and fun? I had a friend once who used to talk to me until the wee hours of the morning and he firmly believed that if you do not have some of the downs in this life...how will you ever know how to appreciate the ups?

I wanted to tell this lady that came in to jump.

Jump in with both feet..don't be scared to open up your heart...take the risk...never fear who you are...learn to love again.

Because, whatever you do, you'll be doing it just right...you'll be learning exactly what you need to learn, exactly how you need to. And you'll learn that you can indeed...after everything you've been through...fall in love again.

And, while we may all be trying our hardest not to get hurt, I think that may just be a part of this dance we call life...

And, if you read about it, or worry about doing it just right...
you may miss out on the very best stuff!