Is There An End To The Olive Branch? - Grasshopper

When do we stop reaching out? I'm not sure, so let's explore.

I'm pretty sure you'll stop reaching out when you're dead, unless you're coming back to haunt someone.

 

Is there a benefit to continually reaching out while on this earth? Is there a natural stopping point? Like most questions seeking a definitive answer, the answer is, "it depends."

 

Depends on what? Patience? Endurance? How bad you want something? Or does it depend on something else, like a blind spot to reality?

 

Chances are if you've endured and have been patient past patience, you may be wearing the world's best blinders: Self-deception.

 

Hoping against hope is still hoping. Allow me to adjust one word of my favorite Chinese saying: "Hope doesn't cook rice."

 

If you've gotten to the hoping stage, it's time to exit the stage of reaching out. You've put enough feelers out there to tickle a dinosaur.

 

If you're waiting for people to change, let me quote my sainted mother, "Don't hold your hand on your ass waiting."

 

It may take a few more overtures than you're comfortable with to get a response to your offer, but the effort is worth it because you are no longer dealing with a "maybe."

 

So here's my answer: Reach out until your arms get tired and then reach out some more. If there is no response after that, take your olive branch and silently head out the door.

 

All the best,

John