Things I learned this weekend ...

Things I learned this weekend did not come cheap. After some deep thought and reflection, I found a lot out about myself and the good news is that it's not too late to teach this "Old Dog New Tricks!"


The first thing I learned was that loving someone too much can hurt them.  That love that you think the other person should understand because you're heart is in the right place. That love where you are so passionate about what you're saying to the other person, you forget to listen.


The second thing that I learned was that too much passion towards a subject when it involves someones life other than your own is, well, meddling. I never meant to meddle, I never meant to not listen, I just meant to get my point across because I was that passionate about the outcome.


The third thing I learned was the outcome isn't mine.  I can care all I want and think all I like, but the outcome of another persons life is, well, not my outcome to shape. We all make choices and good or bad, we all have to live our own lives.


Yes, I am wise and yes, I know a lot about life and yes, I want to share it. But, no I cannot expect another person to take my short cut when they haven't had the chance to live their own life.


It hurts so bad to believe in your heart that you know what is best for someone and feel helpless when you cannot get through to them. Even though it hurts so bad, it hurts worse to lose their trust that you are there to listen and that they can trust you to be there for them.


I learned this weekend that my passion is really my fear. My fear that I will not be able to save someone from being hurt. The fear of not doing enough with the result of doing too much. I learned that I am better than that and that I can be more mindful of how I express myself.

It's not that I didn't know all these things before this weekend. It's that I forgot. What I learned this weekend is that once you hurt someone, even if it's out of love, you can't take it back. I learned that I really, really wish life had do overs.