bruised

Sticking your neck out sucks when it doesn't work out.  But sticking your neck out is what I believe in.  I feel, with all my heart, that life is for taking chances, stretching your limits, leaving your comfort zone and above all, trying hard.  And I guess, life's about failure, too.

I can't explain the unfathomable joy and utter shock that I felt when contacted by the producers of a new show for OWN six weeks ago, who had found me through my weekly column and asked me to throw my hat into the show's casting ring.  After thinking it over and deciding if I might be a good fit, I jumped in head first and loved the excitement of filming video footage, doing Skype interviews and imagining all the possibilities that might lie ahead if it all worked out.  It was so crazy fun and thrilling, then the wait was grueling and now the end result just plain stinks.  For whatever reason, I didn't make the cut.

So, I want to cry, but just a little.  I'm now forced to give up these OWN-related possibilities, but on Thanksgiving Eve, I am very thankful for the opportunity to get outside that box of mine and imagine more for myself.  Even though it didn't work out, I still see it as a sign that I'm working within the flow my life is supposed to have; that I'm on the right track. 

Pardon my self-preservation for a second, but I can't help but think (and desperately hope) that I'll watch this show someday soon and think, "THANK GOODNESS I DIDN'T MAKE IT!" because just I wasn't a good fit for it.  I wholeheartedly believe that things happen for a reason.  Just look at all the times J.K. Rowling got shot down; ANYTHING is still possible!  Ideas have arrived and creativity birthed that might never have surfaced if this experience hadn't fallen into my lap. 

So on I go.  Bruised today - but not for long!