Redirect, Recenter, Refocus

Rejection is not the closing of a door;

it is the clearing of a path.

Each time I have been turned away,

it was not for lack of worth,

nor for lack of attraction or connection.

It was because I carried disappointments

like an albatross around my neck,

a burden too heavy to let me ascend.

It has taken time to see it,

but I understand now—

alignment must precede desire.

I was not yet the version of myself

who could hold the vision I craved.

Each rejection has been a compass,

pointing not toward them,

but toward me.

It has whispered:

“Look within.

Find the place where you are not whole,

where you cling to validation like a lifeline.

Fill those spaces first,

and you will never lack.”

And so, I accept these redirections,

not as failures, but as lessons.

I step forward with resolve,

knowing that persistence without clarity

is a path to nowhere.

I become resilient,

not against the pain,

but in my ability to transform it.

I do not hold resentment,

for rejection is never personal.

It is the universe shifting me,

showing me the cracks in my foundation

so I can rebuild stronger.

I go forth in silence,

no longer pleading,

no longer searching.

I know now that the love I seek

must first be built within me.

And when I am ready,

when I am whole,

I will not need to chase.

It will find me.