You know those times when you want to be happy for someone but you can't muster up the strength? Or, maybe you don't even want to be happy for someone but you feel like you should want to be happy for them? Like, if I were a better person, I would be able to rise above the fray and realize that one person's "issue" is completely independent of any of my "issues." That happiness and achievement are not a zero-sum game where one person's luck or fortune means there is less for everyone else.
There are times when my rational brain fights with my irrational brain and who knows which one will come out on top. I'm really glad that your daughter made the advanced swim team; it's great that your son qualifies for "talented and gifted;" congrats on winning that professional award.
These are times I must remind myself that life is both up's and down's and that some great rewards are born from not getting what you want or what you imagined. I remind myself that someone else's achievements do not take away from my own. I remind myself that life is full of choices, each has pros and cons. These reminders are all easier when others' good news and good fortune doesn't come in waves, and doesn't come when my own boat already feels like it's listing to the side.
So, I'll still say I'm happy for you, and hope that the real feelings will follow. Sometimes they do. Other times they fall between the gap of the person I want to be and the person I am.
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