1. Never say never.
2. Timing is everything
Think you'd "never" do something based on your likes or dislikes?
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| This dress. Geez, I love it. Thankfully I started wearing vintage and liking pink again. Whew. That was close ... |
Think something will "never" happen because of your situation?
Think again.
I find that whenever I say "never" it's due to pride. My pride.
Either it's because I'm living a "holier than thou" moment and think I'll "never" do something based on what I see others doing or have done. Or I'm saying "never" because I've already been through something and I'll "never" do, deal with, have, go, own, like, etc -- fill in the blank. Whatever it is I'll "never" participate in because I have no faith in a great future or my vision is so narrow, that my "view" is the only view.
It's pride. Plain and simple.
Years ago, I said "never" to dresses (I didn't wear dresses for the longest time) and pink. Hated the color.
Never to dresses? Not sure why. I probably wasn't comfortable in my own skin when I said never to them. Like for twenty years.
Then I got back into them when I started selling vintage and basically have had to backtrack and own up to the fact that I HAVE BEEN MISSING OUT. That's what "never" does, to you. Saying "never" makes you miss out on what the universe is trying to give you. What God is trying to teach you.
And never to pink? Not sure. Maybe I thought it was too girly and I'm really not a girly person.
Except that I am because I love dresses. Okay, I'm really not that girly. Trust me. I'm not. But, no pink? Hello, missing out here. Pink comes in a zillion shades. This dress for example, has two different shades of pink in it and it is gorgeous. I mean, the combination is beautiful.
So, here's your bit of wisdom for today that I learned: never say never and watch amazing things happen. Also, watch how similar we all are when we say never.
What do I mean?
Okay. So, you think you'd never treat someone a certain way? Find yourself in that situation and see what you'd do. You think you'd never get yourself involved in a less-than-optimal scenario, or never own a minivan, or never drink more than ten cups of coffee in a day?
Hardly. You just haven't been given the opportunity yet.
Humanness, weakness, anger, hunger, depression, loneliness, all of it will make us do things we never thought we'd do. So does pride.
Now, moral convictions about a thing are something else. That's not what I'm talking about here. I'm talking about a blanket statement that I've said, using pride to cover my insecurities.
The thing about pride, the stinking, crazy, amazing, awesome, eye-opening thing about pride, is that the "never say never" opportunity teaches me I am prideful. I need to deal with it when it rears its ugly head, even when I don't think pride is an issue.
When I say "never," I'm taking empathy out of the equation for me. "Never" is becoming intolerant, sad, and just plain ugly. So, I can't understand someone of a different socio-economic background or political background because I"ll "never" vote that way, or live that way? Really? That's absurd.
Empathy puts me into someone else's shoes. It takes my "nevers" and makes them "evers."
I'll "ever" try to love someone like you, I'll "ever" try to understand you, I'll "ever" take what it is God wants to give me, even if I don't think I want, like or need it. I'll also "ever" wait for God's blessings, too.
Never say never, my friends. Enjoy everything. Be thankful for everything. Choose good things. Like pink,and dresses, and pink dresses and live well!
Remember, we create and bring into our lives the very things we dwell on, think about, focus on and wish for. So just make sure you're creating, dwelling, thinking about and focusing on good things. Happy things. Big dreams and secret and not-so-secret desires.
Never say never and watch you world expand beyond your wildest dreams.
-HJS
(This was originally posted on my vintage blog, hence the vintage dress. )
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