When Success looks like Failure

Sometimes our successes can be more devastating than our failures. We fight, strain, and struggle in pursuit of something or someone that looks to be good, and after days or months or years, we obtain it. Dancing and singing, we throw up our arms in triumph. We close our eyes and sigh in relieved satisfaction, enjoying the moment and the smooth, cool weight of the victory we now hold in our hands.

We bite and chew, savoring the sweetness of our success. But when we open our eyes and look around, we are shocked to discover that the faces of the people we love most are no longer present in the cheering crowds. The place where we stand is foreign or unfamiliar, and the reflection in the mirror seems to be not our own.