7.22.2013

Puzzles (NaBloPoMo #16)

In an effort to be more intentional about my writing and to really work on strengthening my skills, I'm participating in Blogher's NaBloPoMo for July.
The theme is CONNECT. 
Everyday, I'm going to write based on the prompts and share it here and on Blogher. 

I would love to hear any and all feedback from you.

Steve Jobs said: "You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future." Discuss.

Life is all about choices. 
Last week, I talked about how those choices can lead to missed connections.
Often, those missed connections are not misses at all.

At the time, it may seem you made a mistake. Or in the immediate future, you regret the choice you made. It can feel like you did set something in motion you didn't mean to and you end up feeling a little lost.

I got married when I was 23. It was a beautiful fall wedding and I was excited about my future as a wife.
Exactly one year later, I was divorced.
Starting over. Again.
I had my share of failed relationships and I was just sure that I had it figured out this time.
A small argument turned into a realization that I had chose the wrong person.
I went to the lawyer. I filed the paperwork. I said 'I'm done.'

Then I went through a really weird period of time.
I wavered between being sure I made the right decision and wondering if I just ruined my life.
I dated again and feel like I fell into the same pattern of person and got out.

Then, I met T.

When I met him, I didn't know the impact he was going to have on my life.
I didn't know that I had just met my best friend.
I didn't know that 3 years from when we met, he'd be asking me to be his wife.
I didn't know that my life would be irrevocably changed for the better.

When I realized that I was falling in love with T, all those past failed things started to make sense.
Each of those relationships taught my lessons about the kind of partner I wanted to be and the kind of partner I wanted to have.
At the end of each failed relationship, I felt like I had just wasted a lot of time.
Looking back now, I see that each moment 'wasted' just brought me closer to where I was supposed to be.

He's the piece that was missing from my puzzle.

I don't know what the next 5 years holds for me.
I don't even know what the next 5 months holds for me.
I don't know what the final shape of my life will be.

But, I do know, each decision I make now is a line connecting the dots of my future.
And someday, when I'm old and gray, I'll be able to look back and see how everything all fits together.

Can you see how your past decisions have helped shape your future? How do you trust that the dots will connect in the future?

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