I spoke with one of my Anonymous Beloveds last night. She yells a lot. It seems her kids usually err on the side of bad. I do not think she is very happy. I contemplated telling her about this here project thing I've got going, but I didn't want to get into it. Sometimes sweet means, simply listening without giving in to the overwhelming need to give advice. I got to thinking though, that she gets a pay off; she's in it for something. We all are.
No matter how selfless or selfish a person is, everything they choose to do gets them some type of a pay off. The problem is that most of us don't even realize that our rewards are making us miserable. But what's my payoff for being sweet? For sucking it up when I really want to tell the mean mommies to shove their stupid little rain boots where the sun really isn't shining or from shoulder checking the person who's too busy yelling into her cell phone to see that she's walking on my side of the isle at the store?
I think the ultimate payoff is the world we build around us. My girl Flylady suggests that we all deserve to build a home that "hugs" us. Isn't that a fabulous image, y'all? I want a life that hugs me back. All the same, it's hard. Its hard for me to make friends, well real friends anyway, you know the ones you really let get to know you. Ok. If we're really gonna be honest here, it terrifies me to be vulnerable in the same way that my man-eaters pace in the basement with their ears perked up, eyes so wide I can see the whites of them, and tails tucked to their bellies during a storm. So, I've adapted. I'm the girl with a plan, the one with doggy-tranquilizers and peanut butter as soon as the tornado sirens start wailing. You know, the self-reliant one, the regular old boy scout.
To simply say that I want a life that hugs me back in return for my sweetness is only scratching the surface. I want a life that hugs me back because sometimes the walls I build to protect myself leave me a tad bit lonely. Because one of my greatest pains in life is watching others live a life that I can only dream of right now. One of my very special ABs always reminds me that when the pain of remaining the same becomes greater than the fear of changing, you'll change. I'm learning how to be vulnerable one sweet day at a time and my payoff for becoming sweeter is opening my life up to new possibilities. What are your payoffs?
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