It’s funny how creative block works. One moment, you are on a roll and feel kind of unstoppable. And the next, you have no clue what to do—and you really can’t force yourself to snap out of it. The same goes for writing. Over the past few months, a lot has happened in my life. Things that family and friends know, but I hesitated to post to my online world. It was easier to remain quiet, and the more time that went on that I didn’t write, the more I didn’t know where to begin when I did.

As I sat down today to create a cute ‘lil Easter graphic for my Facebook page, it just hit me like a ton of bricks (or, Easter eggs, rather)—the theory of putting all of your eggs in one basket and how it applies to life…

Courtesy of Urban Dictionary, this means “having all of your resources in one place; putting your money or hopes or future into one thing. ‘Eggs’ are delicate, and if all of your eggs were in one container, and that container was damaged, you might lose all of your eggs in one quick and painful moment.” 

So, how about I start there to catch you up…

Many times I have done this. And, many times I have had major reality checks of things not working out at all how I thought they would. I tend to dive in hard with my decisions, often ending up swimming around in (metaphorical) shark-infested waters. There are two major areas of my life where this usually shows up—one being big ass life decisions that should not be taken lightly, and two being relationships.

ONE. I am the first to admit that when I get an idea, I follow my heart way more often than I follow my head in making decisions. As I have written about before, I moved back to my hometown to be nearer to family and friends after my Mom’s passing. I needed them, and I gave little-to-no consideration to what impact leaving my well-paying job with benefits, and selling my condo with little equity invested, would have for my future. Filing for bankruptcy, commuting 3 hours a day to work, and moving in with my brother isn’t something that I ever would have imagined happening. I’m starting from scratch at 36 years old (well, minus the school loans, those aren’t forgivable in the States), but in the long run of things to come in life, this may have needed to happen to gain a better grasp on my finances. I have a long way to go, as it’s just the beginning. But, the hidden beauty of mistakes is learning a very important lesson (though this is one that I wish I could have done without).

Had I not put all those eggs in one basket, I could have been like—“Okay—I’ll stay in Columbus for one more year, save enough money incase I can’t find a job right away, and make the decision when I’m not deep in the middle of grief.” I may have worked through my feelings of missing home, and it may have ended up being okay while I maintained a better sense of security and stability. Then again, it may have been awful. I’ll never know what would have happened going down a path I did not choose.

AND, TWO. I’ve recently learned that someone that I’ve invested several years of my heart and emotions with, is in a new relationship (it’s Facebook official, so it must be serious then, right?). We have been able to remain friends along the way of many ups and downs, but I admit that somewhere in the back of my mind I had hoped for a long time that things would work out differently. It was this past summer during a visit, that I’d had a major realization that we weren’t as right for each other as I’d thought, and knew we would go our separate ways for real at some point. I pretty much let go then, but that doesn’t make it an easy pill to swallow I guess. I can only blame myself for the (at times, resentful) feelings I have about him—as it was my decision to put him on a not-so-deserving pedestal and shoo away other potential relationships, in hopes that he would come around. But, unlike the love stories that you see on TV, where fate swoops in and two friends end up happily-ever-after forever, this one didn’t pan out.

Had I not put all those eggs in one basket, I could have been like—“Okay—I’ll continue to keep an open mind, date other people, and be available for someone that is actually available to me!” Less pain and confusion along the way would have come from that route for sure. As this scenario has been a repeat experience when it comes to relationships in the past—I can say now that I have finally learned the lesson not to give more than I receive in future ones.

I GUESS THE POINT IS… that when you are facing decisions—really weigh the pros and cons of a situation. Not just the emotional aspects, but also the logistics and the what-ifs that could come into play. There is always a what-if, and life has no guarantees—but, I think we can better prepare ourselves if we have realistic expectations, by taking off the rose-colored glasses and not putting all our energy into one uncertain outcome.

A leap from one little mound to the next is one thing, a leap across mountains (um, fake hypothetical ones) without expecting to fall and face major consequences isn’t realistic. However, in the moments we decide to take a leap of faith on something and it not working out—I have learned that life does indeed go on, and things eventually work themselves out. The beauty about making mistakes is that we learn from them (eventually), and well we can do is try to make a conscious effort not to make the same ones again. Either way, there’s always a lesson in life to be learned.

We live and learn, my friends—so keeping leaping if you must, and keep learning the lessons to be taught.

Song of the Blog:
Carry On |  Fun.  |  circa 2012