Don’t Fall Into the Trap Coco CHANEL Did
By Erin Deborah Waks
This story starts slightly bizarrely, so bear with me. Yesterday I sat down on the beach, ready for an afternoon of reading and relaxing, when a woman perched nearby asked if she could share the shade of my beach parasol. Naturally, I obliged, and we exchanged pleasantries. She soon divulged she was a clairvoyant, a psychic, with a keen interest in astrology. I, knowing very little about this realm, was immediately intrigued.
One thing led to another, and soon we were deep into an astrological and psychic reading of myself, my life.
You can say what you like about spirituality and astrology, but one thing is for sure; it provides a great starting point for reevaluating things about your life. This woman told me lots of things I already knew about myself - about my relationships with my parents, my friends, my struggles with my own identity, my creativity, passion and drive. My love of writing and my fierce protection of my own independence and my right to exert it. She even noted the downside of said independence - my fear of depending on someone other than myself and subsequent self hatred I feel when I feel myself needing help.
But she said one thing that really took me aback. Supposedly receiving a psychic message, this woman blurted out the following words: ‘Don’t fall into the trap Coco Chanel did.’
It took us both a while to figure out exactly what this divinely delivered message meant. But, intuitively, I knew it had to be about love. It reminded me of something my best friend once told me. ‘Erin,’ she said, ‘you wrote yourself out of love and romantic relationships a long time ago.’
Coco Chanel met the ‘love of her life’, an English aristocrat in 1908. He married someone else, though. Despite years of being in a relationship, with him and with other men, Chanel never settled down with a man, instead choosing to focus on her work and career.
It definitely tugged on my heartstrings when my new psychic friend suggested I take care not to fall into Coco Chanel’s trap. Because I, like the iconic designer, don’t really view her life as a ‘trap.’ But again I, presumably like Chanel, want to fall in love one day.
I have no plans to lessen my dedication to my writing career. I certainly don’t intend to spend my days begging, praying for a man to love me, and for me to love him back.
But maybe, like my best friend said, I should write myself back into the narrative that allows me a life filled with the kind of love I only ever dream about. And not to fall into the trap that Coco Chanel did.
