III — Much Better —

The Growth Begins

Initially — after I crashed and burned — things down- between us, I realized something that should have been obvious decades earlier! I was caught in a mindset of “tit vs. tat” — as in: “yes, what I did was wrong, But what you did to me justified my destructive response at you”.

I began to explore the hurt that I had caused, and how I had been very, very wrong over our entire relationship. (Immaterial — in these moments, was what, if anything, you’d done to me.)

(I’m aware that in this writing I switch foci — from the general to specific (often pronoun) — without warning.)

I was beginning to (finally) listen, really listen.

Listening to others — particularly my partner — was most important.

I also started to learn to listen to myself — to experience what I was really saying — not only what I meant, but also the impact my words had on those I spoke at and with.

This was the beginning of my Journey,

(On Loyola’s Campus “Together” — Not Long Before We Left Chicago)

Which increasingly flowed and at times jumped

Moving Forward

with some miss-steps -