February 28, 2016 9:44 AM

Time wounds all heels...except when it doesn't

Today marks a year since Erin and I moved into our new house in north Portland. Even after 365 days, we still marvel at our good fortune in finding this place, which has become a home in every sense of the word. It’s also an example of how sometimes things work out in ways you can’t begin to imagine, much less understand. It wouldn’t have taken much for things to work out very differently. This was the second house we made an offer on; we had to convince ourselves to walk away from a decidedly emotional attachment to the first house. On the same day we did that, we walked into an open house near the University of Portland and fell in love with the place we now call home.

The past year has been unbelievably positive- we bought a house, got married, honeymooned for two weeks in Iceland and Norway, got a dog (yes, the best dog EVER)…I could go on, but the short version is that it truly doesn’t suck to be Jack and Erin. I’ve come to accept and find no small amount of comfort in where I am in life. That contentment has made it easier for me to write and create. It’s allowed me to more fully appreciate what I have, and to recognize that there’s much in my life to be thankful for.

There have been a few things that haven’t gone my way. How many among us can say their life is perfect, right? Part of the challenge I’ve faced has been recognizing that things that feel like setbacks can if viewed in the proper light turn out to be net positives. There was one big setback- at least it felt that way at the time- that took me some time to accept and begin to reorient my approach. I’d spent almost a year and a half working assiduously towards a goal, only to have it denied to me for reasons that at the time felt both ridiculous and unfair. I still don’t understand why things played out as they did, but I no longer really need to. Once I’d been able to step back and process what had transpired, I finally began to understand that maintaining the status quo in many respects proved a far superior option.

When the gods want to punish you they answer your prayers, right? That mine wasn’t is something I finally came to recognize as perhaps the best thing that could have happened. Turns out that not getting what you want isn’t always such a bad thing.

When I look back on the past year, it’s with a profound sense of gratitude for the good people and good things I have in my life…and there’s no lack of either. Today presents yet another opportunity for me to reflect on my good fortune and the good place I find myself in. The hardships and setbacks I’ve experienced B.E. (before Erin) lend a perspective that helps provide me both profound gratitude and a tremendous sense of peace.

Life does not suck. Far from it.

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on February 28, 2016 9:44 AM.

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