02/11/2025
A good friend once told me, “You live and learn…or you don’t live long.”
There have been times in my life when I wanted to quit learning. Very literally was sick and tired of building character and trying to do my best only to find myself in the midst of an experience that I wholly disliked, dare I say ‘hated,’ that was not made less difficult or frustrating or painful by the realization that life may again be presenting me with an opportunity to learn. I had had enough of life lessons and the experiences that taught the toughest ones.
However, it was in those moments that something deep inside me - a still small whisper - reminded me that to quit learning would be the end of living, and in giving up, I would miss the joy and collateral beauty that comes from these lessons too. Sometimes I wanted to ignore the whisper, to hold self-righteously to my anger and frustration that “life isn’t fair,” to fight my inner tendency to find the good in things - the beauty in the mess - the blessings in the storms, to hate the thibgs that were happening and the people involved in them. But I couldn’t. Not for long, not for good. Try as I might, the whisper persisted, the lessons presented themselves for my consideration, and the light and joy started to seep through. Loving who I am is still a work in progress; leading with love and loving others continues to be one of the greatest joys and most wonderful blessings in this journey we call life.
I read this today. The author explains this well and brought some additional clarity to me. I thought others of you might find some insights in these words too. 💕
Title: in order to love who you are, you must not hate the experience that shaped you.
Author: letters from rosie
“The purpose of life is to experience.” — Unknown
There’s a bittersweet freedom in realizing that you’re just a soul passing through this world; not here to be perfect, but here to feel deeply, to break, to grow, and to witness every raw, beautiful, and painful part of being alive.
Every choice you once called “wrong” was just life’s way of redirecting you. Every detour, every heartbreak, every moment of doubt was trying to teach you something you couldn’t learn any other way. And maybe, just maybe, everything that happened to you happened for a reason, even if that reason is still hidden beneath layers of pain and confusion.
The deeper we understand life, the heavier it can feel. As we grow older, reality unravels in ways we weren’t prepared for. Adulthood reveals unsettling truths: how people are capable of cruelty, how greed distorts, how pride breaks what love tries to hold together. We begin to see the weight of injustice, how money defines power, how the poor are treated as less than human. And that realization, knowing how unfair this world really is, can be heartbreaking.
And in all of that, it’s easy to feel like life is just one long attempt to survive.
But maybe survival is sacred. Maybe it’s brave.
Like you, I’ve struggled to hold on to hope when life has worn me down — mentally, emotionally, physically. I’ve doubted, I’ve broken, I’ve wanted to give up. I experience having times that I question about the life, the future, and thinking about it by breaking down. But somehow, when I look back, all those moments start to make sense. The breakdowns, the chaos, the sleepless nights filled with pain — those were the cracks through which light finally slipped in.
And maybe, just maybe, that’s the paradox of life: to heal, you must hurt; to love fully, you must break open; to find peace, you must first meet chaos. Life is just it is. A string of hard choices, silent battles, and moments that feel like they’ll never make sense — until one day, they do.
Forgive yourself for the mistakes you’ve made. You’ve learned your lessons — now let them guide you. Use that wisdom to build a brighter, kinder future for yourself.
You weren’t made to be flawless. You were made to feel. To live all the questions. To risk, to fall, to love deeply, and sometimes to lose just as deeply. Your resilience is not a flaw; it’s the evidence of your becoming. Even if you’re not where you hoped to be yet, the fact that you’re still here means you’re already doing something right.
So don’t regret the journey. Learn from it. Live through it. Let every experience — good or bad — bring you closer to who you’re meant to be. Because every step, no matter how small or hard, is a step toward healing, growth, and the love you deserve; starting with the love you give yourself.
In order to love who you are, you must not hate the experience that shaped you.
And in time — no matter how long it takes — love and light will always find their way back to you.💞✨🙏
