The High Road

Birthdays.

Birthdays are like our own personal "New Year's".  Though I feel I am always constantly evaluating my life, this day I pause to think if I'm turning out to be the person I've always wanted to be - a person that I can be proud of.

Returning home from abroad has been just as eye-opening as living abroad.  Old wounds were reopened, new problems arose.

I had lunch with my uncle yesterday, and he was telling me a story about his kids. His two daughters were having a full on cat fight - saying hurtful things and pulling hair.  But their brother intervened and said - "Look, guys, you're sisters.  At some point, someone has to take the high road."

I've been thinking about this high road...the path least often traveled.  The path that subjects us to pain and rejection.  Yet it's the path toward healing.

Living with family has admittedly strained my relationships with certain family members.  And for the whole time it has been going on, there has just been this one dark cloud following me around...

And this year, my new year...I have made the decision to make it go away.

You want things to change?  Start with yourself.  Start with the things you can control.  Take the lead, and if others really care...they will follow or come around eventually.

I have my pride, and in the past I would rather ignore my issues and hope they go away...but I know if I really do care about it...it eats away at me.  

Today, I wrote an email to friends I had fallen out of touch with.  It was hard to write, but I wanted to say sorry.  There's a good chance I won't get a response, but I thought about whether it was worth the risk of getting hurt to put myself out there - and I decided, yes.  It was worth it.

Today, I will make peace with my family.  And be more understanding.  There's always another side to the story.

Just like every relationship, whether romantic, familial or purely friendly, the most important thing is that you tried.  You tried to make amends, you tried to make it work.  And if it doesn't work out, at least you know you tried!

Life is too short.

So today, I take the high road.