31 Silver Linings – A Writing Challenge {Day 8}

A dear friend and I have been on similar paths for a long time.  Sometimes hers will go left while mine goes right, but soon we seem to find ourselves in similar situations again.  I’m thankful for her in so many ways, not the least of which is having someone with whom to commiserate, who really, truly gets it.  This week, within two days of one another, we’d each felt the sting of rejection, of having our hopes dashed.  We exchanged texts, sympathizing with one another, but one of her replies today struck me:

What we want isn’t always what we need.  

So, so true.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted something so desperately and was absolute distraught when I didn’t get it…only to look back later and realize how differently things would have turned out if I had gotten my original wish.  I’m sure we’ve all had situations like that, whether it be about a job, a move, a home, a relationship, or any number of things we were certain we could not live without – until we had to.

I can recall being completely brokenhearted over a failed relationship, certain that he was the “one”.  But when I look back now, I realize all the things I wouldn’t have done and more importantly, all the ways I wouldn’t have grown if we’d stayed together.  I think back to jobs I left for various reasons, not sure if I’d made the right decision in moving on, only to find that my position had later been eliminated or the company had gone out of business entirely.  Of course, those silver linings can only be seen in retrospect but my friend nailed it in her text;  it’s a good reminder to hold close.