In my last post, I talked about some hairy interactions I was having with an acquaintance. If you missed it, you can read it here so you know what the heck I’m talking about in today’s post.
Midway through the situation with this acquaintance, Petunia, and shortly before writing my previous blog post, I realized that I was in a very reactionary place internally; when Petunia would say something mean, I was paying a lot of attention to the storylines in my head that were triggered by her comments.
This didn’t leave me in a very clear state, to say the least, but once I was aware of my inner muddledom, I was able to make a different choice. And that’s when I chose to see the situation as a lesson, remembering that one of the ingredients for radical life change is seeing life as a wise teacher (and not a jerk who’s out to get you).
From this place, I was inspired to look at my journal entries from the past month, and wouldn’t you know, there was a gift hiding in plain sight.
So, Petunia and I had been considering joining forces on a long-term work project that seemed mutually beneficial. The day we discussed this option, that night I asked my Guides for their input before bed. My journal indicated that the very next day Petunia started acting like she’d overdosed on hatorade: she was making snide comments and consistently cutting me down when I shared ideas.
Sometimes guidance comes in the form of dreams (and I had one of those, too; more on that in a moment), tarot readings, or insights in the shower.
And sometimes it comes in the form of someone acting like a jerk.
Once I made the connection between asking for guidance on the co-working situation and Petunia’s negative behavior, my answer was crystal clear: no, this was not a good situation to enter into!
Interestingly, once I told her my decision, the negativity stopped and hasn’t been a problem for a couple weeks and counting now. (Although I have become keenly aware of how pessimistic she is about life in general, a bullet I’m very glad I dodged by not choosing to partner up with her.)
As for the dream, the night that I told her my decision to part ways, I dreamt that she and another friend were instead doing the project together, and dream me felt very left out. One of my Guides appeared right before I woke up and imparted the message that, even if I feel left out in response to future events with Petunia, know that I made the right decision to walk away and don’t let those left-out feelings push me to recant.
It’s not always easy to look for guidance in the face of annoying situations or people who are acting like assclowns, but wow, does that shift ever open up a world of possibilities and growth.
When you’re faced with an unpleasant situation, take care of yourself first and foremost, and gently try to shift toward asking, “What is this situation trying to teach me?”
You might be pleasantly surprised by the gifts hiding in plain sight.
