Member-only story
Isn’t It Painful When Friends Reject You— What Now?
Quit listening to your thoughts— it’s not you — it’s your mind!
My friend, Carol, a pickleball enthusiast I play with often, had an issue she was struggling with.
In her mind, she felt slighted by two players. They stopped inviting Carol to play with her as they may have been a bit more advanced than she. She was hurt and confused as she had been willing and happy to play with them when they were newbies, even though she would have rather played with others more on her level.
The women met to play several more times, and Carol was left out, once again.
They were her friends — why would they treat her this way?
Carol was crushed.
You may be thinking — wait, this is an adult woman? She’s behaving like an adolescent whining over something as inconsequential as that?
It has been said we don’t care what others think of us once we reach a certain age. I don’t care if you’re 105 — when someone slights you, it can hurt. I’m glad I was available to help soothe my friend’s ruffled feathers.
Coincidentally, I came across this sentence in a novel I’m currently reading:
The politest of rejections eats into the soul…
