Big Buts

There were very BIG 'buts' in the way of L2 and I having anything romantic in the near future (see my previous post). We sussed it out over roasted turkey and mashed taters at lunch on Friday. We decided that in spite of our obvious instant connection, we won't work out long-term. He's very serious about finding a mate - as he should be at this point in his life. I'm very serious about finding myself - as I need to be at this point in my life. So trying to attract intentions of two different poles would be futile. The inevitable, yet amicable, 'let's just be friends' talk occured. We walked away feeling a little awkward - I'm sure he felt it more because he was more transparent with his feelings toward me than mine toward his.





Nevertheless, I'm so grateful for this experience for numerous reasons:





1. This was my first mature dating situation since college (kinda builds my confidence, you know?)


2. I learned to be transparent even at the risk of hurting someone's feelings (I preserved self before trying to preserve others)


3. He reminded me of the importance of meditation and spiritual connections with other people, self, God and the earth (dude is deep).


4. He reminded me of the importance of eye-contact (his level of eye-contact takes some getting used to, but I soon learned that you cannot even embellish a story when looking intently into another's eyes - it demands raw honesty)


5. Life is too short and too precious to waste my time and anyone else's. It's important to know what I do and don't want and live my life accordingly...unapologetically.

What's one profound thing you learned from your dating experiences?