January 2004

A few months ago, I received an e-mail from a woman who was attracted to a man, but she was not sure what his feelings were for her. I gave her the advice that I usually do in this situation: be honest. I told her to let the man know that she was attracted to him and to ask him if he were interested in exploring where this may lead.

I recently received a second e-mail from her thanking me for the advice. She had spoken to him, he was interested and they are pursuing a relationship. Now, not all is perfect. There are things that need to be ironed out. This relationship may not have a happy ending. What touched me more than anything else was her assertion of how happy she was. She said that even if the relationship did not work out, she was still happy to be experiencing what she had been able to.

How often has the fear that we may get hurt stop us from trying something new or reaching out to another human. Think about all that we are missing out on. We may know love and events and learning that we otherwise may never know. Yes, we may get hurt, but we can learn from that, too. If we never try anything new, we will never grow.

So may this New Year bring you many opportunities to try new things, to grow, to practice saying what you really feel and may you and yours be healthy and happy.