A couple of days ago, I was lounging on the couch talking with Angela, while the other kids were off doing their thing. It was dark and quiet, and we were softly speaking about Things That Matter. Angela brought up my trip this next week to Massachusetts to go visit my new long distance Sister-Friend, and the subject of sisterhood and real siblings came up as we talked about how close she and Olesya are. I casually said I realized she would always feel something different for Olesya than she did with the boys.
With a hint of indignance she looked at me and vehemently said, "No Mom, you are wrong. Maybe at first I felt closer to Olesya, but not for a long, long time. I love my brothers just as much as I do my sister, and I feel like I was born into this family and they are just as much my real brothers as Olesya is my real sister. I have the kindest brothers in the whole world, and they are my real brothers and will be forever. Blood doesn't make a difference, and you know that. Just like you are my real mom and dad is my real dad. You are more my parents than my birth parents ever were, and I don't feel closer to them because they gave birth to me. I feel closer to you because you love me, and that is what matters most."
Yea, I was schooled. And I couldn't be prouder or more touched. Guess that judge 5 years ago was a little off base, too, when she doubted ethnic Kazakh kids could get along in the same family as ethnic Russian kids.
Love changes everything. It really does.
How often do we make assumptions about how strong a connection might or might not be because someone doesn't look like us, have the same background as us, or has a different lifestyle than us? I have a friend who is reaching out with great vigor into the dating world, and she has elected to push herself to be more open than usual, and is making a great effort not to automatically kick people out of the "Possibility Pool" based upon preconceived notions because of what they do for a living or what hobbies they enjoy. She has met some incredibly interesting men because of this openness, some of whom she has had very strong connections to despite her initial thoughts based upon data that might have previously caused her to pass them over as "not a fit".
Unless we are willing to take chances and reach out to others who are different from us, we never grow. Unless we take risks and reach out to others who might hurt us, we never really find true connection and fulfillment. We can't guard ourselves forever, we can't keep bars across our hearts tightly welded and then say we have never experienced real love, blaming it on The Universe when really it is our own unwillingness to open up to possibility that causes our isolation. We have to be willing to be hurt, we have to be willing to reach out and from time to time get burned a little.
Every single time we have adopted, our kids took a risk, just as we did. Each of us yearned for love and acceptance, and we tentatively reached out, hoping we weren't making a mistake, but willing to make a big one on the off chance that maybe, just maybe, real love awaited us. Sure, it might not have worked, and great pain would have ensued...but what would have been missed if the risk hadn't been taken?
For some, it is easier to remain with the comfortable and familiar and be able to point and say, "See? At least I didn't do something like that and have my heart broken." and then they can count how many times they have been "saved" from pain and loss other more adventurous souls experience. But what those "Secure Suzies" are not counting is the amount of joy and love that has been missed because "safe" is better than "risk". How many connections are not discovered because it is too hard to look at someone and bluntly say, "You know, I really like you! Why don't we get to know one another better?" or because we are too scared to tentatively reach out and grab a hand or offer a hug.
For some, they hear an internal scream that says, "Don't do that! You know what might happen! You could get HURT!". Others hear a gentle quiet urging, "Go ahead, give it a shot, what's the worst that can happen? If you get hurt, you'll get over it, but if you miss this opportunity, you might regret it forever...go for it!" I guess it is all in perspective, and what would bring the greatest regret...pain endured, or opportunity lost.
I know what category I fall into...opportunity lost is far more painful to me than pain endured. In fact, my experience has shown that sometimes, pain endured often leads to love found, so even then that pain can be categorized differently.
At 6:00 am Tuesday morning I am embarking on a little adventure of my own as I leave my family
behind, and with their blessing, travel across the US to meet someone I have grown to love virtually, and will be meeting for the first time. This may sound odd to some, but to those who know me, it is actually something I have lived out over and over again...meeting people I have grown to love or care about prior to ever being in their presence is familiar and comfortable for me, and I have done it over and over again, my life always enriched by the discovery of someone new.
This time, there is a certainty that is seldom present, for I have found the most wonderful friend in the world, and I am anxious to spend time with her. I was going to add "and get to know her in person" but frankly, that seems silly because I already know her completely, and the meeting is a mere formality. We have each invested an enormous amount of time in building this connection, because the hint of what might be possible contained within our very first email exchange was that silent Spirit voice urging us to "Go ahead...give it a shot..." Because we are both people who are fearless in our willingness to put our hearts out there, and are open to emotional risk, we have been rewarded abundantly. Each of us has been profoundly hurt in the past, and yet it didn't stop us from trying again, over and over, because This Matters, and our previous pain taught us a different lesson than it might have taught others. We learned that pain can be moved through, that it makes you stronger, and that the love and friendship found when the risk is taken and is successful is worth the pain when the risk is taken and from time to time the attempt fails.
It's worth it. I have been taught that by my very own children, and Angela is the best example possible. The symbiotic nature of the learning that happens between parent and child is such a gift, if the elder is open to learning from the younger. How much wiser I am, how much more experience I have gained from being in relationship with my children. They have been the very best teachers for me, because I intentionally watch and listen to them. I don't discount their innate wisdom because of their age, for they have so much to offer me, and so often model a different way of being in the world that has moved me forward in so many ways.
Pain endured or opportunity lost...I'll endure the pain once in awhile, for I simply can not bear the lost opportunity.
Yea, I was schooled. And I couldn't be prouder or more touched. Guess that judge 5 years ago was a little off base, too, when she doubted ethnic Kazakh kids could get along in the same family as ethnic Russian kids.
Love changes everything. It really does.
How often do we make assumptions about how strong a connection might or might not be because someone doesn't look like us, have the same background as us, or has a different lifestyle than us? I have a friend who is reaching out with great vigor into the dating world, and she has elected to push herself to be more open than usual, and is making a great effort not to automatically kick people out of the "Possibility Pool" based upon preconceived notions because of what they do for a living or what hobbies they enjoy. She has met some incredibly interesting men because of this openness, some of whom she has had very strong connections to despite her initial thoughts based upon data that might have previously caused her to pass them over as "not a fit".
Unless we are willing to take chances and reach out to others who are different from us, we never grow. Unless we take risks and reach out to others who might hurt us, we never really find true connection and fulfillment. We can't guard ourselves forever, we can't keep bars across our hearts tightly welded and then say we have never experienced real love, blaming it on The Universe when really it is our own unwillingness to open up to possibility that causes our isolation. We have to be willing to be hurt, we have to be willing to reach out and from time to time get burned a little.
Every single time we have adopted, our kids took a risk, just as we did. Each of us yearned for love and acceptance, and we tentatively reached out, hoping we weren't making a mistake, but willing to make a big one on the off chance that maybe, just maybe, real love awaited us. Sure, it might not have worked, and great pain would have ensued...but what would have been missed if the risk hadn't been taken?
For some, it is easier to remain with the comfortable and familiar and be able to point and say, "See? At least I didn't do something like that and have my heart broken." and then they can count how many times they have been "saved" from pain and loss other more adventurous souls experience. But what those "Secure Suzies" are not counting is the amount of joy and love that has been missed because "safe" is better than "risk". How many connections are not discovered because it is too hard to look at someone and bluntly say, "You know, I really like you! Why don't we get to know one another better?" or because we are too scared to tentatively reach out and grab a hand or offer a hug.
For some, they hear an internal scream that says, "Don't do that! You know what might happen! You could get HURT!". Others hear a gentle quiet urging, "Go ahead, give it a shot, what's the worst that can happen? If you get hurt, you'll get over it, but if you miss this opportunity, you might regret it forever...go for it!" I guess it is all in perspective, and what would bring the greatest regret...pain endured, or opportunity lost.
I know what category I fall into...opportunity lost is far more painful to me than pain endured. In fact, my experience has shown that sometimes, pain endured often leads to love found, so even then that pain can be categorized differently.
At 6:00 am Tuesday morning I am embarking on a little adventure of my own as I leave my family
This time, there is a certainty that is seldom present, for I have found the most wonderful friend in the world, and I am anxious to spend time with her. I was going to add "and get to know her in person" but frankly, that seems silly because I already know her completely, and the meeting is a mere formality. We have each invested an enormous amount of time in building this connection, because the hint of what might be possible contained within our very first email exchange was that silent Spirit voice urging us to "Go ahead...give it a shot..." Because we are both people who are fearless in our willingness to put our hearts out there, and are open to emotional risk, we have been rewarded abundantly. Each of us has been profoundly hurt in the past, and yet it didn't stop us from trying again, over and over, because This Matters, and our previous pain taught us a different lesson than it might have taught others. We learned that pain can be moved through, that it makes you stronger, and that the love and friendship found when the risk is taken and is successful is worth the pain when the risk is taken and from time to time the attempt fails.
It's worth it. I have been taught that by my very own children, and Angela is the best example possible. The symbiotic nature of the learning that happens between parent and child is such a gift, if the elder is open to learning from the younger. How much wiser I am, how much more experience I have gained from being in relationship with my children. They have been the very best teachers for me, because I intentionally watch and listen to them. I don't discount their innate wisdom because of their age, for they have so much to offer me, and so often model a different way of being in the world that has moved me forward in so many ways.
Pain endured or opportunity lost...I'll endure the pain once in awhile, for I simply can not bear the lost opportunity.
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