Thursday 1 January 2009

The First Day Of A Brand Spanking New Year.


Another break from my work to do what I am not meant to be doing right now, which is to think too much in any depth about anything other than what needs to be completed.

But it is there, this thought, this feeling, this nagging, this weight, this perplexing, unfathomable, confusing energy that just will not leave me.
This isn't a spanking post, but some of you here in this community are amongst the wisest, most thoughtful and thought provoking people I know ( I can see that just from the richness of all the data you gave me in my survey, and thank you again so much for that )...so I hope in posting this here I might gain some insight or advice.

Mostly I work through things, emotional blockages, difficulties, hurts, pain, bad choices I made, guilt etc... it of course takes varying amounts of time but as I enter in to 2009 I'd say that there is so much of my life that feels okay now, more than okay, exciting, vibrant, full of possibility and inspiration. I mean it will of course always be evolving and complex and still at times difficult but I trust myself to be able to embrace all of those things and be with them.

There is just this one thing though. Not a thing, a person. A person who is in my life and I don't know how to manage it. I've tried for a long time now to seek answers in knowing how to aide it feeling differently from how it does, but it * still* feels unresolved within me. This is someone who was once very important to me, I can't really articulate what my feelings were for her because over time I've come to mistrust what my feelings were, what hers were, what the whole nature of everything to do with our relationship was. For some reason I feel I need to just clarify here that it was not a sexual relationship. There was love but I don't know what it was, I truly truly don't. It is the single most baffling thing in my whole life. There was also a lot of pain, I betrayed her. I also didn't trust her but that * may* have been because I misread her actions ( because words don't count in this at all, she was always very seductive with her words) .... but most of all it is something that I've lost all trust in my own judgement over. 

All I do know is that I think I probably had her up on some kind of pedestal, I still do think she is a pretty amazing woman in spite of what has happened between us so it is hard to take her off that pedestal, but I needed to, otherwise I would always be in her shadow. I think I probably have taken her off that pedestal now...I think much of last year was spent doing that but even though she is no longer held up high she is still here...

The one question I asked myself at the beginning of yesterday evenings rituals was " How can I move forward in to 2009 with a neutral feeling about her? "...maybe I am asking the impossible of myself...I'm not sure we can neutralise feelings really...just that over time they become less and less...but this has been over 2 years now, and the most difficult thing is that we * are * in one another's lives. If we were never to see one another again then I can imagine time would just heal it. But we see one another professionally and this is likely to increase I suspect in the year ahead.....and we are also connected through our intimacy with another. Last night I lit 7 candles and did short visualisation with each one. One was lit in the hope of finding resolve in this situation. I visualised cutting a cord from my heart to her and trying to build a different one...one that was still full of love and compassion, as you would wish for any human being , but one that had been grown from a less complicated place, with a less complicated feeling running through it. I wept afterwards because I could kind of feel it hadn't shifted things, I could still feel so much pain and today it is just still there....that feeling....that disquiet, humming of the unresolved.

How do you make someone not matter anymore? Even though you still have high regard for them both professionally and personally. ( and I don't mean that in an unkind way - every human being matters, but you know what I mean ) How do you walk in to a room and have neutral feelings, as if she were just another person in that room? How do you stop comparing and reacting? How do you keep someone at an emotional distance even when they may be physically there? How do you keep trying to heal the wound when each interaction with that person has the potential to crack it right back open? How do you let go of something when you still feel that there is misunderstanding and untruths? And yet you don't even really know if that is true anymore.

I'm sorry that this is a bit of a heavy post. I've posted a fun picture to try and lighten things up a little, but actually I am at a bit of a loss about this.

16 comments:

Fabsterrant said...

HNY to you, new to your blog. Male here. Couldn't stand to see so much sincerity go with no response in the comments section. I'm sure I'll bring an "oh gosh" response if I say it. Ahem, "tis better to have loved and lost than never have loved at all." I really appologize for a trite statement, but if its like salve then let it do its work.

Anonymous said...

Olivia Manners, well, well, well! I just spotted you through your link to me and thank you kindly. An Olivia that likes spanking? We were clearly meant to be! :-)

Your post struck a chord tonight as this is something I am currently struggling with too, albeit in a different context. I sometimes wonder if by trying so hard to make them not matter, we actually make them matter more. If only I had a better way...

Livvy xxx

Anonymous said...

Hi Olivia:
Such a lovely, sweet and very complex post. I just want to give you a big hug. There are so many concepts that run thru your post. I think one of the hardest lesson or concept for me to understand is, what I can control (at any given time) and what I just cannot. I have always found that relationships of the heart, (any one that you love) have a life of their own, you can't make yourself love someone that you don't and vise versa. They do just have to run their course, not that you can't control your outward behavior. But even still that is a challenge. And you are in a particularly challenging situation because you are working with this person. You are certainly working towards healing this situation with all of the meditative work that you are doing. My prayer for you is that you come thru this situation in a timely and most peaceful way. So that you can be in her presence and feel that peace of who you truly are deep inside you. I am sure that there will be other bloggers who know you far better than I do who may offer you more astute advice. Just know that there are so many of us here in this community who care deeply for you and are here for you.

the.voyeur.flaneur said...

Happy New Year Olivia!

This is the first post I've ever read of yours and it's quite deep.

There will be lots of questions in life without right or wrong answers; however, as for the person you speak of, somehow I think time will solve this.

Pandora Blake said...

I sympathise with a lot of what you say here. Irresolution is one of the hardest things to live with. In my case, my heart could only start to heal from a messily-ended love affair after I accepted that I never would achieve that resolution; that I never would have the conversations I imagined, listen and be listened to, forgive and be forgiven. For emotionally conscious people such as yourself, the desire for open communication and resolution is completely understandable - and that desire is, a lot of the time, what enables you to be so emotionally open and at the same time so strong. But in some cases, the desire is a futile one, and we need to find internal ways to manage our frustration.

It must be all the harder for you with the continued professional connections to this person. I've never had to deal with that and perhaps it means that my experiences aren't much help to you.

Rituals like the ones you mentioned in your last post are a very useful way of managing unruly emotions like this one. This will probably get too long for a comment so if you don't mind I'll write you an email instead :)

xx

The Headmaster said...

Happy New Spanking Year to you, too! What a thought-provoking post.

Eliane said...

I've never really been in a similar situation, so I don't know how much use my thoughts are, but I suppose the one comment that I would make is that I think you *are* expecting the impossible to neutralise feelings for someone when those feelings had once been so strong. I think the only way we can ever feel neutral about someone is if they didn't mean very much to us in the first place. With a situation like this, I don't think you can ever expect to reach a level of neutrality. This person obviously meant a huge amount to you, and therefore will always have a place in your heart if you will, as part of your history. I think the thing is to try and move the feelings you have away from hurt and disqueit and towards acceptance of what was, and what happened. Yeah, simple, right?!
But anyway, what do I know?! That being said, if you want to talk, you know where I am.
E
xx

Anonymous said...

Stopping by to wish you a very Happy New Year. My new years resolution is to comment when I read blogs. I do read yours and really enjoy it.
Ciao
I Gal

Anonymous said...

How do you make someone not matter anymore?
The context has changed for good. It may be a while for the elephant in the room between you to diminish, but with a New Year, new opportunities and an advanced qualification imminent there's so much ahead to provide focus....
So grieve for your broken relationship and look forward. In six months time the context will have changed for the better and the elephant will have packed his bags and gone!

OliviaManners said...

Thank you all for your comments, I really appreciate the thought you've given it / me.
I'll reply in more depth after I've finished my thesis.
This also gives me some time to really reflect on them.
Thank you for the really long email Pandora! and again, I will reply shortly.
Olivia
x

Anonymous said...

Hi Olivia:
Just sending you Thesis Completion Concentration Hugs. I remember years and years ago I read an article on studying techniques and one of the points made (and it was a long time ago so sorry if the quote isn't exactly correct)- When you are first sitting down to study or write a paper etc, it usually takes the brain a bit of time to settle down, tune out extraneous stimuli, and focus. If you can "force" yourself to make it thru the first 20-30 minutes without stopping to do any other tasks (ie take drink, look around etc) you can usually succeed in submerging your self in your task. I was wondering how you felt about that idea. No need to answer, I just thought it was interesting.
Take care,
Andrades Girl

Moi said...

Great, thoughtful post...I could hear your heart. Good stuff!

For whatever reason, I got this hit: Pedestals (as well as those we have strong negative reaction to) are our outward projections of stuff we have disowned within ourselves.

Who/what part of her is you?

Perhaps when embraced, you may discover an internal shift....??? (it's worked for me).

ronnie said...

At last I have found my way here, lovely thoughtful post. Never been in that situation. Look forward time will solve it.
A bit late but thank you for the links on Greenwomen's blog regarding those lovely panties.
Ronnie
xx

Mr.C. said...

Dear Olivia,

What a very touching post, and how very illuminating it is of your own character.

Of course all the comments here are important, however if it were me, I would pay particular attention to the comment by Andrades.

It is merely my opinion of course but I believe very strongly that peace and tranquility comes from having the wisdom to recognise and accept the unchangeable.

We need the strength and drive to shape, direct and control our own lives of course. But we also need to have the inner strength and resilience to accept that that control is far from absolute.

Sometimes we are indeed just flotsam upon the ocean wave, and why shouldn't we be? It would be a grave mistake to think otherwise, once that is accepted, then there can be many things to be gained from our unscripted journey.

Nothing in life is wasted, if we are of a mind to see it.

Anonymous said...

Dear Olivia,
I just found your blog. What is the matter with me? I've been missing out.

Anyway, I could write this exact post about a woman from my past/present. I don't see her in my professional world, though. We haven't seen each other in... eight years, next month. She befriended me on Facebook the other day and I have yet to respond. Betrayal is huge. Time does help, but you are both forever changed by what has transpired between you.

In the musical, "Wicked," the two women sing a song about how knowing each other has changed them "for good." The song plays on that phrase. Have they changed for "the better" or not? They hope for the better, but aren't really sure. But they do know they have been changed "for good."

Hey, if a musical can have a song about it, it must be a human experience. Welcome to the human race and best wishes as you cope.
Your (new) friend,
Maryann

Constance said...

Small tears in cloth or flesh are generally mended with a few well placed stitches. Large ones require a patch, which is essentially a way to fill, rather than close, a void. I believe our hearts work on the same principle. You need to either stitch that hole your friend has left, or fill it. Of the two options, I have always found that filling the hole is most effective. Once you're done that, your friend's importance will recede from your memory, and you'll find yourself asking why it ever hurt as much as it once did.