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August 23 – Ghosts of Rejection

August 23, 2021 by Dorothy Preston

I’ve been in a good place spiritually for the past few years, it wasn’t until my first book was published that things started to go awry. That was when my past ghosts began to visit me again and I got caught up in some very low-vibrational pity parties where I was the guest of honor.

With a fairly diverse group of friends, not to mention a large family of whom my book’s main character focused on, it’s no surprise that I’ve perhaps offended or hurt some of those people. That said, I am trying to embrace my absolute fear of rejection which has been the theme of my life—and lately has been playing a leading role—with rejection ranging from my dog preferring to snuggle with my husband, invitations declined, my contractor ignoring me, just to name a few.

I play the part of victim so well. I get so caught up in my own game of who can out-martyr who—I always win! The stubborn child that folds her arms and digs in her heels. “I won’t talk to them until they acknowledge how darn good and mad I am…” I wish I could get out of my own way and stop feeling so judged. But the indirect rejection I’m perceiving from some family members is palpable. I can’t control what others think or do, so I try to roll with it and tune in to my higher self.

I reached out to my best girlfriend who I know will talk me off my cliff. She is a strong self-realized woman and she doesn’t take crap from anyone—I love that about her!

“I should be beyond all this petty crap. Am I just being a baby?” I asked her.

“F-them all!” was her response. Remember The Four Agreements: ‘“Be Impeccable With Your Word; Don't Take Anything Personally; Don't Make Assumptions; Always Do Your Best.’” She’d been teaching this in her weekly Yoga classes. I knew this in my heart, but somehow I couldn’t grasp it in the moment.

It's odd how the themes of our lives repeat no matter how hard we try to exorcise them—those old ghosts haunt us at will repeatedly throughout our lives, and either you let them affect you, or you look them in the face with courage and tell them to go away.

Perception is everything. As soon as you think you are being rejected, you are being rejected. If you need to ask someone if you are being passive-aggressive you’re probably being passive-aggressive. Rejection is a perceived indignance and nothing more.

I live in a very hilly area; I like to equate living to riding my bicycle up a large hill. The more you look to the top of the hill ahead, the more difficult it is, but if you keep your eyes down to where your wheels are rolling you will find the strength and courage to make it up any hill no matter how steep!

Dorothy Preston has a degree in Communications/Media, and has worked in the publishing industry for over twenty years, including Prentice Hall/Simon & Schuster, Houghton Mifflin, and Little Brown, to name a few. Dorothy’s debut memoir, Getting Off the Radiator: A Story of Shame, Guilt, and Forgiveness was just published. It is Dorothy’s hope that she can share her journey with those having gone through similar ordeals so they might learn that forgiveness truly is divine, and along with it comes peace.

Filed Under: Dorothy Preston, True Words from Real Women

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