| Blog Entry - Saturday, January 26th, 2008 | Add / Read (4) |
While I had a lovely time at my Lotusphere weekend, I left with one indelible thought in my mind: you can't go home again. It's not to say that I can't find a way to get a job in the Lotus technology universe, and can't once again spend my Januarys in Orlando with all the lovely Loti and friends. But what I forget occasionally, although I've learned the lesson more than once, is that when you go back to something after leaving it for a while, both you and it have changed. You can go to it - move forward to it - but you can't go back to what it was.
This isn't necessarily a bad thing. I feel that success in the world is somewhat predicated on forward motion. However, that doesn't change the fact that, somehow, it can be disappointing if you make the mistake of expecting things and people to be as you left them. It's made me a bit melancholy this week, as I tried to figure out what could possibly be making me sad -- I spent time with some people I truly care for, I saw lots of friends and acquaintances, I talked to lots of people about career/job opportunities, I had good food and drink... What's to be unhappy about?
As usual, only your own attitude can truly make you unhappy. If I don't try to fit this year into the patterns and templates of years' past, and look at it as a new door to walk through inquisitively and positively rather than a scuttling back to the safety and happiness of an old door that may still be open, I feel much better about the week, my life, and my possibilities. That nostalgia is an impossible challenge to live up to, so it's best to leave it in the scrapbook and make new expectations, memories, adventures. Perhaps this time, the lesson will stick.
Author: Libby Ingrassia
Posted at: 01:21:39 PM
