Misadventures in the Journey of Life: relationships

Showing posts with label relationships. Show all posts

Saturday, May 6, 2017

Say Anything.

“Say something I’m giving up on you. I’m sorry that I couldn’t get to you. Anywhere I would have followed you. Say something, I’m giving up on you.” — Say Something by A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera

There are few greater risks you will attempt in your life than falling in love. To take that one person who was once a stranger and slowly build your life around them. To have that one person who you never knew become the only person who matters truly the most. The one you would lie for. The one you would die for. The one you would uproot your entire life if it meant that you could spend it with them. Especially when you know that there’s a chance, no matter how slim, that it will end.

People “fall in love” all the time. And, to be fair, it is like falling. Free falling from a plane. Everything that was once safe is behind you as you plummet towards the unknown. It’s equally frightening and exhilarating. It’s letting go and it’s freeing. In the beginning, you have no control over it. You let the winds of fate blow through your hair and take you on a most unexpected journey.

That’s the easy part.

When the passion dies like conflagration into a coal, that’s when it becomes real. When the problems that you once gladly swept under the rug (providing that you even saw them in the first place) become more apparent. After the first fight — and then the second, you start to realize that this supposed iron clad bond between the two of you isn’t as strong as you once presumed. When the rose colored glasses start to dim, the reality of it all starts to clear like a fog parting through the mountains. That’s when the true fear sets in. Maybe, just maybe, the two of you aren’t as perfect, after all. When the fiery tornado of new love slowly unwinds into a steady candle of routine — that’s when you discover if it was ever truly real in the first place.

There reaches a point in every relationship when you question if it’s worth it. You start to wonder if dating (or, if it’s gone that far, marrying) them was a mistake. When the fights become more regular than what you ever anticipated. When you’re sitting on the couch together and don’t speak. When you’re lying in the same bed and you might as well by sleeping next to a stranger. When the calls that would last until three in the morning now barely last ten minutes. When you can’t even remember the last time you told them that you loved them. And you’re not even sure of the last time you felt it. When you stopped kissing. When you stopped touching. When you begin the course of no longer caring.

That’s when you reach the fork in the road. One road is where you start to work on the relationship and pour everything into rebuilding. The other you do nothing and it eventually dies. And no one can make that call except the two of you. And even then, there’s no 100% guarantee that it will work.

The problem with the past is that everyone has one. Everyone has been hurt at least once. Everyone has that ex that makes you question everything. Including your sanity. Which leads to emotional baggage. The problem with this, emotional baggage, is that if left unchecked, it tends to build. Like a weed, it starts to overgrow into your new relationships; eventually smothering them. If left unchecked, one bad relationship will poison all the ones that follow. Even the greatest built ship will eventually meet an iceberg if you don’t change course.

The last part of this post is the hardest. There are scant few things that you will endure that are harder than the end of a relationship. When the person you cherished with all your heart becomes the person you no longer recognize. When the one that you love is the one that you have to say goodbye. When you have to let go of the one who once mattered the most. Through all the tears and all the pain. When all that you hold dear finally comes to a close. There are few things harder than that.

We mourn. We weep. A little bit of us dies inside. But, through this catastrophe is a chance to grow. A chance to learn. A chance to become whole once more. Is it easy? No. If anything, it’s the furthest from easy you will ever get. Is it necessary? Yes. Because eventually the shards and shadows of your past loves will eventually fade away. All that will be left are the lessons that you have a choice to either learn or lose.

These scars you have. They can either cripple you or change you. Cupid’s arrows will always be bittersweet. It’s up to you of what to do once you’ve been stung.

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Walls.

As today is Valentine’s Day, I have a bit of a confession to make: I love behind walls.

There are two sides of my coin when it comes to the topic of love. I equally describe myself as an eternal bachelor and a hopeless romantic. Both, for the record, are true. I choose not to date. I am fully capable of falling fully into love. While these seem to be polar opposites, they actually are parallel realities. Such is the lifestyle of those like me — those who know full well how poisonous the arrows of Cupid can be.

You see, I’ve been burned. Hard. More than once. To the point where now, if I start having feelings for someone, I pull away. I do not trust the judgements of my heart. I cannot trust the judgements of my heart. It has lead me to earth shattering agony that I do not wish to ever relive. So I love behind walls.

They say that there’s no such thing as love without risk — and they are right. But I’ve reached a point where I’m so unsure if I have the proverbial parachute that I stay on the plane that is going down. I don’t trust the life boat so I remain on the Titanic.

Do I get lonely? Oh, yes. Not often. In fact, it’s pretty rare when it happens. But when it does, it hits hard. Like a sledgehammer to the chest. I feel an emptiness that breaks me. These are the rare moments that I cry. I mourn the happiness I once had. I mourn the loss of having someone I cared so deeply for. I mourn the heart I once had — one that was a raging inferno of passion that turned into nothing more than a charred coal of memories. As much as I so desperately want to ignite that light, I’m afraid the winds of change will only snuff it out again and I will be right back to where I am now.

Do I want to love again? Yes. I miss having conversations that last until 3 AM. I miss having inside jokes with someone. I miss watching television with someone and the only thing that mattered was that I was with them. I miss having someone to write poetry about. I miss seeing a text from someone and breaking into a giant uncontrollabe smile. I miss being giddy. I still want to have that special someone. I still want to slow dance with my bride on our special day. I still want to grow old with someone who wants to grow old with me.

But, until I let down my barriers and take that chance again, I’m going to remain exactly where I am now:

Alone.

Thursday, April 7, 2016

The "D" Word

I logged on to Facebook (a site I admittedly spend way too much time on) tonight and a friend of mine had shared an article called "10 Things to Keep in Mind When Loving a Highly Creative Person": http://iheartintelligence.com/2015/07/08/loving-a-highly-creative-person/ With me potentially dipping my toes back into the dating pool, I read and immediately shared the article. It's a short article and 100% spot on. Let me go into detail.

The very first thing listed was "their minds don't slow down". This struck a massive cord. I joke that my brain doesn't have an off button, but the reality is is that it is constantly going. Fast. In a thousand different directions. At the same time. Everything from quantum physics and far off planets to what the average breakfast was for someone living in the Roman Empire. How would dragons pull off flight to what was the subject of the Mona Lisa thinking about as she was being painted (she did have a smirk, you know). Or I'm thinking about work, and the things that are popping up on a daily basis. Problems and possible solutions. Actually, I spend much of my off time thinking about work. This new job is never without a new conundrum; but I digress.

The second one is that we are very cyclical. "The flow of creativity is cycle, full of highs and lows". This also struck a cord. One thing that I have noticed that sets me apart from others is that I have deeper emotions. I take rejection hard; even some that are rather minor. On the flip side, my laughter has been known to fill a room. I am passionate to a fault. And I can be somber - sometimes unexpectedly. When I feel something, I feel it with all of me. By the way, number five goes into this, as well.

The third one is that we need time alone. This is big for me - and a big reason why I am reluctant to start dating again. I need my alone time. Desperately. Especially with how mentally demanding my new job is. As much as I love being around others - especially friends and family; I need to recharge. And the only way to do that is complete solitude. That's why I take walks. To sort my head out and to regroup so I can handle the rest of the world. I need peace and silence. Which is something that is not readily available in a relationship. When I need to be alone, I need it to be 100%. No other human contact. Even that special someone.

Number four is that we are intensely focused. When I'm working out a problem in my head, I've been told that I look extremely angry. I've even had bosses ask if I was okay, because of this. The fact of the matter is that I'm completely oblivious to what is happening around me. I'm entirely in my head and I'm trying to solve a stumbling block. The same goes for when I am having a conversation with someone. My full attention is on them and the topics at hand. That's why I find small talk awkward. I don't know how to do it. And when my brain slips into creativity mode - well, the rest of the world might as well not exist.

The sixth one is something that I didn't even think about until now. We speak in stories. It's true, though, and entirely done subconsciously. I am quite literally a storyteller - even when I'm not trying to be. It's just who I am and how I communicate. I guess that's why people enjoy talking with me.

The seventh and ninth ones are so beyond crucial: "They battle with themselves" and "they struggle with confidence". If there is one thing I need most for my future partner to understand is this (and the importance of alone time). I am, without a doubt, my own worst enemy. I am at war with myself far more than most people realize. When I doubt myself, I doubt hard. Personally, professionally, creativity, the whole gambit. When one little seed of self doubt takes route, it's impossible to stop it becoming a full tree. I have steamrolled my own success far more than all others combined. I fully acknowledge and struggle with the fact that I am the one holding me back.

But, the flip side of this coin is that (number eight) "intuition is important". I go with my gut and I run with it. I will trust my gut over anything else when it comes to decision making. Because I am so prone to overthinking things, if my intuition is telling me something, I listen and follow suit.

And the last one, which is lighthearted: "growing up is hard to do." "Creative people are almost always children at heart". You don't need any further example than Robin Williams. I know I am a big kid when I am able to be. It's also why kids love me - I still know how to play and can relate to their overwhelming imaginations. Sure, I can be mature, but I also take immense pleasure in simple things.

So, yes, this article is an excellent way to understand me better (if that is what you wish). I know that being such a creative person means that I am not going to be the easiest partner to be with - but I also know that because of these traits, it will be fully worth it.

Friday, January 8, 2016

I Will Follow You Into The Dark.

One of the sweetest songs I have ever heard is "I Will Follow You Into The Dark" by Death Cab for Cutie. Now, while most of people think of the song as about death (with an atheist overtone); it's actually about the long journey of love. The true marathon of marriage and what it means to have a partner that you want to spend the rest of your life with. And all that entails.

You see, we all romanticize love as this passionate thing. A conflagration of passion and emotion. The great fire between two individuals that burns ever hot. What isn't considered is the quiet times. The boring times. Times when you don't really have much to talk about - even though you're spending the rest of your days together. When mundane existence is the most prevalent then in your love's story. When the days of wedding bliss transform into a marital monotony, we begin to question if we have made the right decision. Or if it was "worth it". Those doubts are normal - but the real question is this: Will the person I have agreed to spend the rest of my life with suffer when I pass on?

You see, the biggest clause in any lifelong partnership is the inevitable demise of the person you're spending the rest of your life with. With life long coupling comes the death of one of you. Which is why the one thing I am looking for in my mate is will she stay long enough to be my widow. Will my death break her heart into a thousand pieces; or will be be one more fragment in her life's story? Truth be told, if I had any qualifying question, it would be that.

I am loyal. It's just who I am. If I love you and we are truly a couple - there isn't a force that will keep me from you. I will heaven and earth just to spend the day with you. But I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I will not live forever. I already know that if I were to marry, she would outlast me. Out live me. There will be a day that will pass when I am with you no longer and even I do not have any charge over that. But, in the strange off chance of life's weird winding road that she were to pass before I; then, yes, I would follow her into the dark.

I have spent too much of this life alone. I know of the quiet solitudes of the night. To not share a bed with someone. To not have someone be an centrical part of my life. But, once that ends - once someone else joins me in that journey towards forever, I know I will never be the same. That bond, that partnership, will be with me until the end of my days. Even through the boring passage of everyday existence.

"You got to spend some time, love. You got to spend some time, with me. I know that you will find, love. I will possess your heart." was one of the opening line of another one of Death Cab's songs ("I Will Possess Your Heart"). Again, it harkens to the opening lines of any relationship. The yearning and desire to spend every moment with the one person who makes you feel the most alive. When the sheer moment of a thought of the individual makes you smile uncontrollably. They call it the "honeymoon phase" and there was one notable Hollywood marriage (Bob and Dolores Hope) proves that even though some marriages last for well over 50 years doesn't mean that they don't remain inseparable. Yet, the best analogy of marriage is the feeling of taking your boots off after spending the day of them. The sheer relief and lack of heaviness that washes over you. That person who still makes you smile and chuckle after spending decades with them. And the one, that one, who will be shaken to the core by your death. That's truly what love is.

This may seem like rambling, but it's something that's been on my heart and in my mind lately. I'm about to have a pretty important birthday (next Wednesday, on the 13th), and I've had far too many of those by myself. Friends sure. Family sure. But a partner... not so much. There's a longing far stronger than I'm willing to admit. Home is not a physical place, but a person you spend it with. And that, my dearest friends. is what I long for the most.