Hello, hello, hello. This is a Between the Sessions minisode. In this series, I'm revisiting some of the most popular posts for the 20-year baggage reclaimed blog archive. I'm sharing timeless lessons on love, care, trust and respect, and recognizing when you're in unavailable or shady territory. It's just been Thanksgiving in the US, and aside for it being a time of year when

some of us think a lot about gratitude, it's also where we might reflect on the year or years

gone by, all the one ahead, and possibly give ourselves a hard time about it. Around this time in

November 2010, I wrote Blessings in Disguise. Be thankful that they didn't

show up and other things to be thankful for. As an offering, really, to everyone I saw struggling

with the story they were telling themselves about someone else's behaviour or what was happening

in their lives. Between that post, plus when I revisited it a couple of years later,

there are almost 400 comments that are so affirming. The article was, is a real jolt in perspective,

and I hope you get a lot from it too. Let's do this.

Even though you may not see it right now, one day you will experience something else that will show you why a particularly difficult experience was a blessing in disguise.

Would you go for it again?

Hell no.

But if you can discover the positive message and beneficial insights and truths that lie within,

in time, you'll find emotional peace.

Be thankful that they didn't show up.

They're teaching you who they really are, and that's not someone who deserves the time of day from you.

Now you can move on.

Be thankful they let you down.

You can adjust your expectations of them now. Be thankful that they haven't called you since you started no contact. You cut contact for a reason and even if they called, it's unlikely to cancel out the

pain you've experienced or meet your expectations. Be thankful that they ended things when you couldn't, even if it was in a sucky

manner. This person doing for you what you couldn't do for yourself at the time is a wake-up call

for you to have your own back in future. Be thankful that they repeated their past behaviour with you.

...