As an author, over time, I've received a slew of rejection letters, a whole hell of a lot of criticism, endless feedback, comments and emails and letters...you name it. As it goes for any artist, really. Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose. Sometimes I win big, and yes, sometimes I'm in the gutter. From hot sex to crying by my lonesome. From a scorcher to a hailstorm. Redwoods to toothpicks.
You get the drift.
And any human being, no matter the profession, has to be prepared for a lifetime full of rejection. Maybe you didn't make the high school basketball team. Maybe that rocker guy fell for another girl. Or maybe, he's just not into you. Maybe that girl married another girl, not you. Maybe your parents slammed your new idea to become a sculptor. Or, your best friend found another best friend and quietly drifted away, disappearing. No gadget can find him. He doesn't want you to find him.
Yes, rejection comes in many forms, and sometimes it feels like several rejections appear in my life all at once. Maybe several different losses creep in together. I'd like to say that I immediately bounce back from rejection, but I don't. I turn things around in my head, lose sleep, beat myself up, swallow hesitantly with that lump in my throat, you know. It's all part of the process, and it takes me a while sometimes. I may sit in the losses for a spell, and the feelings can be fierce.
But eventually, I decide this: whatever it was, it was not the right fit, or it was not in the universe's plan for me, or it was just a really fucking funny mistake. That's possible too. Maybe some situations have no meaning at all, other than this: how will I respond and react?
But after I mull it all over, acceptance comes in, and I realize that I have everything I need on the inside, without the outside approval. And with acceptance comes some muscle. Suddenly, after pushing through another rejection, I have a keener sense of my own vision. I am better able to freely explore who I really am, which, in turn, allows me to find the right fit, the job that does work, the relationship that sings, the friendship like no other. He or she will crack me up.
Rejection clears the way so that I can refocus and move into a deeper place of connection and truth.
C.A. MacConnell
