Wet Blankets

Julia Cameron talks about Believing Mirrors and Wet Blankets. Or I think that is what she calls them? For the sake of this blog post, that is what I will call them. Let me explain...

Believing Mirrors are those people that reflect back to you all the best that you are and can be. They hear a project idea that you have and they are immediately interested and involved. They help you see your potential and all the possibilities. They believe in you.

Then there are Wet Blankets and they do quite the opposite. They are the people that, once you have spent time with them, have you walking away feeling discouraged and ridiculous. They help you see how impossible your ideas are, remind you of the challenges that will be presented to you and, often, spend alot of time staring at your forehead while you talk with this blank, bitter look in their eyes.

I think I have met a Wet Blanket.

This program that I have spoken of...the one that will ultimately support me starting my own company if I am accepted...has been full of Believing Mirrors. Generally, the people of Moose Jaw are so incredibly friendly that it you understand why they deemed the place "The Friendly City". But in my journey of meeting after meeting with the leaders of this program, I have stumbled upon a Wet Blanket. She doesn't like me, I can tell. The minute she saw me, she was skeptical and when she heard I wanted to start a company that was -- *ahem* -- ARTS BASED, her eyes went to a whole new level of blank and bitter.

Here is the rub. I have just found out that SHE - not a board of people or her superiors - but SHE, Miss Wet Blanket herself, has the power to accept me or reject me. Due to this fact, she is calling me in for another meeting to 'negotiate' -- as she put it. On the phone, she sounded angry that she even has to still be dealing with me. To her dismay, every other person that I have had to answer to has been won over by me and my business idea. So, she can't 100% dismiss me, but I am a afraid that she is going to do her best or die trying.

What I don't know what to do is how to handle my feelings and experience of this woman? Believe in myself, absolutely. Keep sending her as much love as I know how and have faith that she'll come around. I have even gone as far as to say out loud to the universe that I will do what I can, but if this program doesn't present itself before me, then I will walk away peacefully confident that it didn't happen because something much more suitable is waiting. I guess that is about all I can do - and go to the meeting extremely prepared. Yet, it is hard not to hate her. Not to already have a backup plan if she rejects me of going to her superiors and letting them know that for a worker that is a very people-oriented job, Miss Wet Blanket is overwhelmingly under qualified. It is hard not to get on a band wagon and start to preach about how if this city is ever going to keep its young, go getting entrepreneurs, it will not serve itself by rejecting any initiatives those individuals may have that represents outside-of-the-box thinking.

Perhaps I am afraid for no real reason. Perhaps she just wants to meet with me again to congratulate me and discuss how much money I will be receiving. Perhaps she will be smiling and happy and helpful and supportive. You never know...stranger things have happened.

Until then, I will just have to keep carving out Plan A, B and C.

And maybe even a D.