Today, just for a short while, I was pondering my life in its full context. I was considering the complexity, struggle, success and my incredible growth as a human being. Pretty amazing, really. Just this quick look back made me feel grateful for being alive. It also reminded me that we all have a story…an incredible life story that is ours and ours alone. And that story carried each of us to this very moment now.
It is incredibly humbling to consider the multitude of life stories being lived right now. To say nothing about all those stories, lived throughout time, up until now. How could we ever know what it must be like to live any story but our very own? I submit, we can’t. We can listen, read, ask questions, seek to understand, be inspired…but we cannot know what it’s like to live any other story but our own.
I hope this simple reflection finds a piece of your heart today. My prayer is this: Embrace your story, however painful or challenging, and know that it brought you to this holy moment of life. Stay humble in relation to all others who are living their own stories that we know so precious little about. Allow this bit of wisdom make us kind to each other more often. Amen.
Much love
Paula
One Response
Paula, Thank you for this insightful reminder–it made me think about learning to embrace my
own story and reinforced to me the importance of each individual’s story and journey. When I
was in my teens (and later–) and struggling with problems and unhappiness, I looked at other people and
thought their lives were so smooth and easy, and I wished to be like them…. I am grateful to have become
more accepting and thus, more kind. Much love, Debby