Cha-Cha

Optimist: someone who figures that taking a step backward after taking a step forward is not a disaster, it’s a cha-cha.

There are pessimists and there are optimists in life. Just in case it isn’t overly apparent, I am one of those extreme optimists. I always look and find the positive in situations and gear my mindset in that direction. I recognize that this mentality can make pessimists extremely uncomfortable because my life perception may be viewed as not “grounded” or “based in reality.”

Quite the contrary. I recognize the reality of a situation, but I refuse to allow the negative energy to permeate and settle inside me. That’s how mental tornadoes begin. Let’s say a less than positive situation presents itself. My invisible “positive” laser beam detector rays shoot out from my eyes to scan for the positive first. {We have already established my super powers in a previous blog, feel free to go and review if you missed that one}. These positive elements are what actually ground me and create a foundation for me to solidly deal with the less than positive.

Life does not move in a linear way. It is a zig-zaggy mess sometimes and it is easy to get tangled up. Do you remember playing Chinese Jump rope as a kid? I remember that I loved the challenge of trying to whip my feet up out of the twists and SNAP land back down on the rope. The difficulty increased bit by bit, edging up from ankles to neck. It pushes the comfort zone within all the players: the rope feels tight around the neck, the rope is so high-how will I reach it?, everyone is stretched to the limit.

That stretching point from where we are to where we want to be is your growth potential. How much are you ready to stretch in order to reach what you are aiming at? For me, my strong positive footing gives me balance to reach further than I thought possible. It also gives me traction to release and integrate the lessons. Last night, I took some time to collect my thoughts and feelings to write a much needed email. I reached out beyond my comfort zone and made myself vulnerable by exposing feelings I had been holding close. I recognized that holding everything is stagnant energy, holding space in a less than positive way. There is no forward motion with out movement. This was my own Cha Cha dance. I needed to take a step back and step out of a situation that was feeding anxiety, not fostering love. As uncomfortable and vulnerable it may put me, the need for movement was greater than the fear of rejection. Mom always tells this story about me to other people that it feels like an urban legend:

Elif has always been the kid who looks fear in the face to make it go away. ‘The sooner I face it, mama, the faster it won’t scare me anymore.’

Part of me recognizes that is how I operate,  part of me wonders how much more I can step into and face. The more I listen to what my needs are and how they are or are not being met, the more honestly I can participate in relationships. Maybe it’s time to go get a new Chinese jump rope, start training the girls how to jump and land on their feet in the midst of tangles.