Betrayal

What is betrayal? Is it the living of a life that seems one way but then clears up to be another? Is it depending on someone and finding they are no where to be found? Is it dreaming of a business, and then during the investigative part of the process, finding that someone you trusted took your idea? What is betrayal? Is there anything you can do once you have been betrayed?

The bad news is that once you are betrayed, unless you put up safeguards for yourself you most likely will be betrayed again and again. The good news is that if you put up safeguards, you might still be betrayed, but the action will happen with your eyes wide open. Then it will be you betraying yourself. It is still betrayal. The pain has the same intensity but this time you have a choice to put yourself out there unprotected and you can welcome the pain. All in all, whether you let yourself down or someone else does... betrayal....simply put...sucks!

What is there to do once you hit the wall of pain called betrayal? Well first evaluate the situation. What actually happened? Who was involved? Who was the offender? Who did the offending? Was there really anything that could have been different in the situation? Lastly.... the most important part... and the most painful part of all... what was your part in the betrayal? Did you let this happen to yourself and for what reasons?

Most of us let ourselves be betrayed because we have a vision of life that is one of dreams and happiness. Where pain and mean people are just dark shadows lurking on the edges of the dark forest. You are in the happy valley playing with the enchanted animals of life and you cannot imaging one of those shadows coming out into your sunshine and bringing with it the cloud of darkness. You get ambushed by the forest. Ripped to shreds as you run through the forest looking for the next land of rainbows, only to find more forest and more darkness. You stop for just a moment and pray, then you get a glimpse a hint of sunlight and you move towards it. Before you know it you are in the sunshine again, only you have less rose to your sunglasses of life.

The hard part is putting in place the boundaries to keep the forest from ripping up your life. Taking a step back, evaluating the situation, listening to the people in your life who are the truth tellers. Reminding yourself about who you really are and then moving towards that person again. Know who you are so when you are derailed you know where to get back to. Betrayals will come. Don't let betrayal take from you your core...who you are.