People tell you that things happen for a reason, often when the situation lacks any reason at all. I've been thinking a lot recently about life and it's challenges. The way I see it is that you live, you love, you often lose but then you continue to find a way to pick up the broken pieces or smooth the edges in order to live again. You find a way to see through the pain and almost catalogue it in such a mindful way that enables you to manage it.
You acknowledge the pain is there and identify it's importance as something you're experiencing, as a pretty much direct result of so much happiness and joy, then you let it settle where it needs to go enabling you to learn to cope alongside it. You never let go of it completely, your grief or discomfort is always there, but it becomes a part of the beautiful technicolour make-up of your life.
Life is a challenge which at times even the most normal and strong amongst us find challenging; they may wobble and feel quite hopeless at times. I am privileged to work with young people across the country that often have a heck of a battle to contend with but the important thing for them, and anyone else who is struggling, is to remember that you have indeed survived 100% of your struggles so far. You will get to a point in your life where you will be able to look back on the tough parts and see that you did indeed hurt or suffer but the pain did end. When I was in hospital I was told to ride the waves of emotion, notice the peaks and troughs but understand that they always came back down again.
Half the battle, in my opinion, is being able to let go and accept the things in life we cannot change. I think we often get stuck in a place of trying to change everything around us and control it, which can ultimately make us feel worse. So I guess I'll be trying to use my mindfulness and acceptance skills in my life a little more and see if it helps free up some of my thinking time to spend living.
Have a look at the rest of my blog for this original post and other similar topics.