Inshallah

316 Marbles 
You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don’t try.
Beverly Sills

    I’m reading the book Three Cups of Tea.  It’s a non-fiction account of how Greg Mortenson’s failed attempt to climb K2 brought him to a village that was in desperate need of a school.  The book describes the arduous process of him building one school and how his humanitarian spirit was ignited in such a way that he went on to build fifty-five schools. 
    This book has me thinking a lot about disappointments and failure.  It was after his“failure” at K2 that Mortenson found the path that led him to the village where he promised to build his first school.  It was in this time when his body had been beaten to a pulp and his spirit was steeped in disappointment that he stumbled upon his true path. 
    For most people, big breakups are large letdowns.  You start out thinking you’re headed in one way, to the summit of the “happily ever after” when at some point, it becomes obvious that the peak is unattainable and you’re suffering from altitude sickness.  Sometimes the only way out is to bail, but the decision usually comes with feelings of defeat.  
   The Muslims in the book are prone to the saying “Inshallah” – God willing.  Sure, I’m not Muslim, and perhaps it could be viewed as appropriation, but I’ve taken to silently saying Inshallah every time I make plans.  One of my jobs at this point in my life, when I’ve failed at another attempt with Ex-man, is to stay open and be aware of the cosmic “x”, the unknown variable in the equation of my life.  Maybe the failed attempt at the peak of the happy relationship is only a twist in the journey, a planned detour on my true path.  Despite my myopic vision only being able to see failure, it could all be part of the master plan.  

Are you steeped in the feelings of disappointment and failure post breakup?  If so, what would it take to view your relationship in a new way? Maybe there was no imaginary summit, and the real accomplishment was in the journey.  Marc Twain once said,“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” So the real question is, "Did you explore, dream, and discover?"