Honor It

I had a horrible time getting out of bed this morning. Not because I needed more sleep or because I wasn't looking forward to the day. There was nothing in particular I was dreading and I was wide awake. I was just incredibly comfortable and all warm and snuggly and.... Well, you get the picture. But I got up and went to work and did my thang because I'm a big girl and that's what big girls have to do. At one point today, there was a situation I knew could be uncomfortable, so as I drove into Sterling, I decided to make it my first stop. If you've ever read Eat That Frog - I was eating my frog.

When I left that first stop, I sat back down in the car and just cried. I was angry and hurt - the people there had been incredibly rude and belittling to me. So the rest of the day, before walking in to any place, I had to take a moment to remind myself that the rest of the people I would see were not at fault for my anger or hurt and deserved nothing but my smile and best attitude. I made it through the rest of my day, enjoying and appreciating the others I encountered, but I'll admit that even now, I'm still a little bit hurt.

This evening, as I read comments from an earlier Facebook post, I felt surrounded by the love and support of my friends. But one comment, in particular, stood out to me. My good friend, whom I respect very much asked me to honor that feeling. It's not a new concept - I've invented my own process for it. Consider the feeling, recognize it, and validate it.   The next part is the hard part... Ask "What can I learn or gain from this feeling?"

So for the past hour or so, I've been trying to figure out how to honor this feeling of hurt. Am I hurt? Yes. Was the situation earlier today hurtful? Yes. Was there anything I could have done to prevent or change the situation? Not that I can recognize. Do I give myself permission to be hurt? No. But what can I learn or gain from this hurt? 

I'm a little stuck... It's easy to honor things that are exciting or calming or even scary for me. But I'm not so sure I know how to honor this hurt. Maybe it's difficult because I don't want to say that I'm okay with feeling hurt. Maybe it's because I don't know how to find productivity in hurt. And maybe finding a way to honor the hurt is the REASON I have to honor this hurt... 

I hope this doesn't read as a "poor me" post. I really am just fine and have had an otherwise fantastic day, but it's what's on my mind. I'm just trying to figure out how to honor this hurt. How do you honor YOUR hurt?