The Question I Regretted Asking

Throwback to some of my old Substack notes.

I couldn't get the writing prompt.🥲

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I kept looking at her calm expression.

The way she assessed me was different, it was gentle. I asked her, with a half smile.

"Is everything I'm struggling to get now going to help me?"

She blinked slowly.

"Not everything," she replied. "But the struggle? Yes."

"It shapes you into who you become."

She paused then continued.

"Some things you're chasing now will fade away."

"Others will turn out to be things you can't imagine yet." "But what you're becoming through it all, is the real treasure."

She ended with a smile.

Photo by Anne Nygård on Unsplash

And that's the question I regretted asking.

Not because of her answer...

But because it made me realize how much I was clinging...

To something that'll fade someday.

To what may not last.

To the idea that every effort I make must have a reward.

That every sacrifice must come with an applause.

I think that's what her smile was saying.

And I wasn't ready to hear that.

Not yet.