Afraid to Be Happy?

Something happens to some people when they get kicked by life. Not all people. God knows that there are those who were either born with -or somehow acquired along the way - the ability to roll with it, or to let it roll off of them. They slough off the bad things as if it were dead skin on a reptile. They discard it, wriggle loose from it, and go on about their business. Their troubles are are on the side of the road in their rear-view mirrors, and they open up more and more distance. I don't know how they do it.

Some of us are not so fortunate. Or maybe we are fortunate in a different way. Some of us, we get knocked down, done wrong, screwed over, etc. and it takes a long time to heal. Being diabetic and also getting older, I have noticed it takes me longer to get over colds and I am slower to bounce back from the rolled ankle or pulled muscle. Some of are like this in our hearts.

I don't have a solution for this. I was just thinking, and this is where my thoughts took me. I've heard the phrase, "once bitten, twice shy" and wondered what I meant and why it has to be like that. Now I know. You but your trust in someone, and inevitably, that trust is broken. Sometimes it is a small wound, sometimes it is earth-shattering.. I have been on both ends of it, and even the small ones can make you swear off trusting anyone, ever again. Sometimes, we refuse to embrace happiness because we fear that misery is presenting itself to us in a clever disguise. Sadly, when we have our shields up like this, we are in poor position to discern, and thus, potential happy opportunities are turned aside.

The point is not to rush you back into taking hopeful risks, but maybe to nudge you a little. Life is short, and fear is a terrible companion on your journey. The sooner you can shake it, the better, and the sooner it will become a memory as you head into a brighter sun.