Sunday, July 11, 2010

Rejection Sucks


Someone I love has just been rejected.
It makes my own heart ache; it gives me cause to reflect.
How hard it is to put yourself out there, to be hopeful, to make an offer of oneself.
How brutal it is to receive a "no, thanks," no matter how kindly given.
So now there is the licking of wounds, the questioning of one's self worth, the pain.

I think about my own hopes and dreams,
and resolve to do more to expose myself to rejection
because taking the safe path and not trying
might not be so dangerous
but it also yields no rewards.

Whether we are disappointed in love
or in our creative endeavors
it's a punch in the gut.

But if we keep trying like Dr. Seuss did,
remain as upbeat as Dante was about Beatrice
our hearts will heal and we'll be happy.


Still, there will be gloom despite the sunshine today.
As Charlie Brown so aptly observed,
when musing on the the lack of reciprocity from the red-haired girl:
"Nothing quite takes the taste out of peanut butter like unrequited love."

This song's for all of us who've had our hopes dashed. May it help the peanut butter taste better.

9 comments:

lisahgolden said...

What a lovely post. Life, love, creativity, all if it is full of risks, isn't it?

Jenn @ Juggling Life said...

This is a tough parenting moment, for sure. You know we all have to go through it, but still . . .

mommapolitico said...

Very few things in this world are worse than watching your loved ones' hearts broken. We just went through Tweenie's first break-up (no longer a Tweenie - 15 now). Heart-wrenching!

My heart goes out to you and yours, my friend!

La Belette Rouge said...

Oh that aching feeling of rejection. That tender little heart will recover---especially since they have you to hold onto.

Anonymous said...

I hate rejection of the romantic sort, but I don't mind it at all when it comes to jobs. In the world of teaching, it is apparently now perfectly normal to attend an interview and to NEVER hear back from the interviewing panel if you got the job or not. How fucking rude! I spent over a week recently checking my email constantly to see if the school had sent me an email (accepting or rejecting me) but it never came. I would MUCH rather have received a rejection email because it was awful not knowing.

Bill Lisleman said...

here's to you in turning this into a good life lesson for the hurting one.

Stu said...

Tell the boy to keep trying.

Jason, as himself said...

Oh, how sad. How tough! The same thing happened to someone I really care about, too, a few months back. But she has moved ON!

By the way, how the hell are you?

Bee said...

Sweet visual.

Yes, rejection sucks; but how much better to be one who ventures things (or people) in life.