Fourth Thursday

Last week, I went to Legacy Books open mic with my dude, Justin McCain aka 4Real. I didn't feel like performing, but he did and I wanted to be there for support since he hasn't performed in a few months. The scene was dope. A lot of older folk who have some real stories and some younger folk who don't adhere to some of the poet stereotypes. The only stereotype that really stood out is the whole "Poet Name" thing...Why does every urban poet have to have "Poetic" in their name? It's played out, people.

Anyway, on the way back, my boy and I were talking about relationships and the problem with time. We're both two very busy people with a busier life coming up, so how do you find time to work a relationship in there? The biggest fear that came up was that you may be able to work someone into your life only to find out that they were a complete waste of time. Like most people, both of us have been burned a few times, which was okay in HS, but now, getting played doesn't only affect you emotionally, there's a practical side also. Time spent developing a relationship with someone could have been productive to other areas that needed the attention. For example, I run a non-profit. The operation of this non-profit in it's 2nd year takes a toll on my free time. For me to make time for a relationship, I have to cut down on the time I spend on the non-profit. Now, let's say I'm in this relationship for a year or two and find out the nasty heffa cheats or something like that (Listen, bitter chicks, I already know men cheat. We ain't talking about us, tho. That's not part of this discussion, go back to your hole and wait for areal opportunity to be angry.) There a significant emotional shock that occurs, which is natural. There is also the reduced efficiency of the non-profit that was incurred when i reduced time to work on it to make time for a relationship.

This can be applied to art, work, hustlin, whatever you're doing.

Now, I normally think it's justified to turn away from the compromise needed for a relationship if too many other facets of your life are going to suffer because of it. On that same token, I don't want to block blessings, and the person I turn away because of other responsibilities could be the one who is "the one." (I HATE that term, just so you know.)

My question is: Do you ever find yourself avoiding relationships based on other responsibilities?