I wasn’t initially going to write this article. I had something else in mind. But I felt so compelled to write this that I couldn’t stop myself from doing so.
But before I get into the meat and potatoes of this article, I want to say thank you to my two paid subscribers, who give me so much encouragement and motivation to continue writing, and as a whole, thank you to all my subscribers, you are all, as we say in North East England, “Legends”.
Recently, I’ve been getting stressed about finding the right partner
Two weeks ago, I matched with this amazing Catholic woman on the dating app Hinge, and she seemed perfect. She was exactly what I was looking for in a partner.
We spoke on the phone for maybe 4 or 5 hours across the week, then we went for a meal together.
And I had a nice time, but I was talking way too much and rambling on about myself. I went against my own advice: I have two ears and one mouth, so I should listen twice as much as I speak.
I knew I was breaking my own rules of social conduct, but I couldn’t control my tongue, and I knew I ended up rambling on about silly things.
But anyway, a couple of days after our date, I was meant to be calling her, but she texted me saying that she wasn’t attracted to me spiritually and as a whole, so the phone call never happened.
This hurt because no one likes rejection, and I thought I found a unicorn because out of all the people I’ve dated and been in relationships with, I’ve never come across anyone like her.
But I respect her boundaries and wishes, and I actually appreciate her honesty, which tells me where I need to improve.
Because truth be told, I’m in the process of becoming Catholic, and spiritually, I have been feeling better going to church every Saturday, but the woman I went on a date with has been Catholic her whole life and is deeply involved in the church.
So even though I have grown spiritually, what I learned from meeting her was that I have a lot of spiritual growth yet to be realised before I can attract someone like her. Which is fine because embarking on this spiritual journey will only make me happier and a better person.
I’ve started going to church mass as much as possible
Every time I go to church mass, I feel better for it spiritually, so by only going to mass once per week, I’m leaving a lot of spiritual gains on the table.
So now I’m trying to go to mass daily (my current streak is 4 days in a row).
And I’m feeling much better, and I’ve stopped being so focused on finding a partner. I know that if I work on my spiritual health, everything else will fall in place, even my romantic relationships.
The strange thing that happened
I recently joined a new gym, and I looked up and in front of me was one of my ex-girlfriends, in fact, the first ever girlfriend I had when I was 16 years old, and the relationship ended really badly.
She said “Hi”, and I said, “Hi back”. I felt like I saw a ghost. I was lost for words and left the gym shortly after (I finished my workout anyway).
I will say I wish my ex-girlfriend, whom I saw all the best, if she ever reads this.
But I think seeing her is God’s or the universe’s way of telling me something.
I think I bumped into my ex-girlfriend to make me realise how badly that relationship went, and to remember not to worry about relationships because when you rush into them, they never end well, as I’ve experienced.
I think God was telling me, “Henry, don’t worry about finding a partner. Remember how bad your relationship with your ex-girlfriend went? I will see to it that you meet the right person when the time is right. Be patient.”
And this is how I make sense of the encounter.
The reason why it was strange was that I hadn’t seen this ex-girlfriend in around 10 years.
But I do believe in God/ some universal force and that everything happens for a reason, because what’s the alternative? To believe everything is meaningless? I’d rather try to make sense of it all as best I can.
So to drive the point home, I’ve learned from being rejected that I need to grow spiritually if I really want to make the most out of my life/ attract the right people into my life. And I’ll try my best to grow spiritually by going to Catholic mass as much as possible and putting into practice what I learn from Biblical teachings. And I won’t rush into finding a partner because I know that doing that in the past has only got me into trouble.
Thank you for reading, dear subscriber.
If you need help with anything, don’t hesitate to reach out.
Toodle-oo for now
-Henry
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