Learning to Live Brave

FAILURE! 

Big fat life eating FAILURE! That's what I feel like. A few months ago I saw Martha Beck talk about "quitting" when you realize what you're doing isn't working. She used Yoga as the metaphor. She says there's a "corpse pose" where basically you just fall down. Read what she posted here: Knowing When to Quit.

That's what happened last March with Confusion Hill Market. I went all corpse pose on it. The problems were many, varied and seemed intractable. They might have solutions that I couldn't see, but I checked out a year before. I resented Murry and I just didn't want to work so hard anymore. 

Spending three years running a market taught me valuable lessons I will carry with me always. I found friends, had wonderful conversations, learned amazing new skills and felt like part of the community. 

Carolyn came into the store asking for small boxes for the hand made pillows she sold on Ebay. We were happy to help. She came in regularly to pick up the boxes and buy our deli food. Chris and his wife Judy shared their home made wine and gave us lots of fishing pictures for the wall. Nick came by with free veggies his boss gave away. I love and miss all the fun people who shared our space. 

I learned how to use the register, credit card machine, food stamp machine and how to order product. I learned a tiny bit about fishing and what kind of fish swam outside the store. 

I did run a business for three years. When I realized there was no way to make things stabilize I stopped throwing myself at something that wasn't working. I am proud of myself for that. 

Now it's time to do things that bring me joy and happiness. I could see doing a business again, but not a market like that. I don't want to sell cigarettes and alcohol. 

Now it's your turn! What have you learned from the failures in your life?  Share as much or as little as you want. I can't wait to hear from you.