This content has been archived. It may no longer be relevant
Your Lessons From Life-Lousy or Luscious
(Photo by Petr Kratochvil, Public Domain)
Many of us believe we have come to a point when we want to be done with our schooling, even though I do have friends who have made careers out of being professional students. We would love to be able to graduate from the school of painful lessons, and to reap the rewards of our long years of labor. In case you haven’t noticed, life never stops teaching us. The more we open up and use our learning in ways to benefit ourselves and those around us, the more depth and richness we find in our lives.
In my own life, I have had many roles and studied many scripts, sometimes hoping for insights and sometimes wishing to hide from them. Who I am now is a composite of all of my past experiences and the learning I have amassed. Now that I have acquired some seasoning and maturity from life lessons, I understand that each of the happenings and even the pain that brought me to the place I am today has served me in some unexpected way. I am no different than the rest of you when, on certain mornings I awaken and discover a new ache, a stiff back, or find a new wrinkle I was certain did not exist when I retired to bed the night before. For the most part, though, I am learning how to appreciate what life has been teaching me, even when the lessons are physical, and I am now intent on aging with as much grace and wisdom as I possibly can. (I just checked the calendar and since my birthday is rapidly approaching, do I have a choice?)
Some of the roles in which I have immersed myself (and I still have some of these) are, writer, CEO, adoption social worker, life coach, adoptive and biological mother, grandmother, wife, widow, wife again, lover, daughter, sister, friend, colleague, feminist, activist, champion of many causes, student, girlfriend, mentor, advice columnist, editor, reporter, nursery school teacher, intake worker, salesgirl, camp counselor, babysitter and probably many more I can’t remember at this moment. I am finally beginning to appreciate how each of these has given me something important, though I did not always see it at the time. Some roles I may have once assumed with reluctance, I now remember with fondness, nostalgia and greater understanding. Others hold little or no interest for me nowadays, but once served a purpose and helped propel my life to where it is now.
How many roles have you had in your life? Can you take some time to remember them and to think about ways in which they have added depth and flavor to the wonderful being you have finally become? Can you envision how the lessons you have learned, the skills, insights and experience acquired thus far may actually serve you incredibly throughout the remainder of your life? How many more lessons are you open to? What kind of mastery over these lessons will you achieve?
Are you yet living the purpose for which you feel you were designed? Did you just happen to fall into your current life or job? If you find yourself doing something that is not deeply satisfying and doesn’t feel quite right to you, or that used to feel positive, but no longer calls up the passion it once did, what are you willing to do about it and when? What are the steps, choices and special experiences that led up to living the life you have at this time? Can you retrace your steps and influences and use that knowledge to help you move in a new and exciting direction? Would you do things differently if you could do them all again? Are you willing to learn some new “dance steps” and to emerge from your comfort zone right now in order to find your purpose and to bring changes to how you make your way in the world
How about telling us about the unique ingredients that blended to season the stew that you are now? Can you share your life lessons and how they are all coming together in this moment to produce the changes you desire, and to help you find the purpose you were destined to find? Think about sharing them here with us on this blog, either in a comment form, or as a guest post. Write to me and let me know if you would like to do that. Or maybe you would like to share them on Facebook in response to this post?
How will the wonderful old you merge with the incredible new you? Can you replay the movie that was your past and truly appreciate every scene and every word in the screenplay? Did you miss key elements when you were moving through the experiences that are now memories? What are your takeaways when you think about these experiences?
Andrew E. Kaufman whose piece appeared in the Chicken Soup For the Soul series, The Cancer Book, by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and David Tabatsky, says, “My world began shifting toward a more universal consciousness. In life, there are no bad experiences, only lessons. It’s easy to get caught up in a crisis, but if you’re only watching the ball, then you’re missing the game. Shifting your focus beyond the obvious is the real game and I was somehow learning how to play”.
I can’t guarantee that the next script waiting for you won’t be the greatest challenge of your life, but it may be the one that showcases you and “brings down the house” in a good way. When I reach my final act I want to take some bows knowing that I may get wild applause, or none at all, but I don’t think I care. I may receive mixed reviews, but once the house has emptied and I am alone looking in the mirror, I hope I can smile and feel good and know that it was all very much worth it!
