Explosions
Did you ever have one of those experiences that made you feel that your world had just shattered into a million pieces?
I had one of those about 3-4 years ago. I’d been hanging with a group of people that I thought were friends. (Looking back, I can see a lot of LoA lessons to begin learning and seeds that were planted.)
Long story short, things had gradually getting more and more awkward in the group. I was made to feel like an outsider and the negativity directed my way was almost palpable. I finally made the decision to leave the group. I called a friend who was also in the group and told her that they didn’t need to pick me up after the collected her; I wasn’t coming to the game anymore.
She told me that the guy who was running the game was going to “kick me out” that night anyway. That’s when things really hit the fan and turned nasty. I tried to end things amicably and got a lot of nasty messages via email. I felt rather bad about it for a while, but other friends rallied around me and supported me through that tough time. After the dust had been settled for a while, I commented to a friend that I wouldn’t mind restoring the friendships, but I’d never go back into a game with that group. His response was, “if you had gone back into that group, we’d have questioned your sanity.”
A year or so later, I learned that the group has pretty much imploded as the self-styled “leader” of the group had targeted one member then another for ‘expulsion’ on various pretexts from “his group.” Where those people are, I sometimes wonder and take a moment to hope they’ve put their lives back together, as I have mine.<br>
Life has gone on; I’ve moved on. I worked on getting to know me and what I wanted in my life. As time went by, I became more open, LoA began to work even more good things into my life. They say that when the student is ready, the teacher will come. And that is just what happened.
I found other women and groups online who were more interested in helping each other succeed than in being ‘king of the hill’ (however small the ‘hill’ might be). Through these groups, I was introduced to Kim (aka The Prosperity Yoda) who has been my mentor for the past several months. I’ve also “met” some ladies from my geographical area and we hope to have in-person meetings when we have a chance.
One day when I was on the way home from an appointment, I had one of those “A-HA!” moments: If Mike hadn’t been so insecure and concerned about boosting his own ego and done what he did, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I actually said “Thank you Mike” to the cosmos. After I had done that, I felt that a great weight had lifted off my heart.
I realized that this was a wonderful “Oh Boy!” lesson. Instead of looking back and wondering/worrying why this had to happen to me. I can now say, “Oh Boy! The Universe is definitely looking out for me. It let me go through that so I could have this better life now.
Phoenix Consulting 
Well, I have experienced something a bit similar in my life, too. While I wasn’t the target of any malicious negativity, I did make a decision to leave the organization I was with. Right now, I’m in a much better place with more opportunities than I would have gotten had I stayed there. Interestingly enough, that organization really collapsed soon after as well.
Being shattered, yes. The day I came home and found my roommates had not paid the rent in 3 months and I had 3 days to find another place to live. I had lived with these people for 3 years (there’s a lot of “3”s in this story, aren’t there? *grin*) and slowly learned that they were using me financially and abusing me mentally. It took me a long time to recover…years…but I kept pressing forward and as you said, Theresa, the lesson learned was both long-lasting and invaluable. The next time someone tried to pull a fast one on me (a boyfriend), I figured it out within a month and had the situation under control with no damage suffered.
These things hurt so much when they happen. They leave us confused and scared and wondering if there is something wrong with us, but if we are honest with ourselves, we will know if it was our fault or not. A lot of the time things like this that happen to good people are faulted on both sides of the fence. Whether it is worth salvaging or running away from some truly deluded, evil people is part of the wisdom we accumulate over the years. The upside of growing old is the wisdom that comes with it.
Should we be bitter about it, hating the people that tear these groups apart? No. If lessons were learned and we evolved because of it, they actually did us a favor. As friends rallied around you, Theresa, you learned they could be relied on, that those were your true friends, and nothing short of family is as important as knowing who your true friends are.
In a weird, wonderful way, they do move us to where we need to be. The Universe guides us and uses whatever means will work at the time to do it.
Namaste.