😥 Remember the first time you got told off at school for something you didn’t do?
Welcome to unfairness.
😥 Remember the first time your best friend went off with someone else and left you all alone?
Welcome to rejection.
😥 Remember the first time you were bullied by people you didn’t even know, for reasons you didn’t understand?
Welcome to fear.
😥 Remember the first time a boyfriend lied to you and kissed another?
Welcome to betrayal.
😥 Remember the first time you failed exams and thought your life was sh*t?
Welcome to reality.
😥 Remember the first time you fell in love and they didn’t?
Welcome to heartbreak.
😥 Remember the first time you stood in a busy room yet remained alone?
Welcome to loneliness.
😥 Remember the first time your loved one took their last breath and you were not ready?
Welcome to grief.
And all of this can sound a bit depressing as if life is just too hard, can’t it?
But here’s the thing, it is exactly because of adversity that we get to live and to grow.
Because without it, how on earth would we experience all of the opposites:
❤️ The comfort of fairness
❤️ The joy of belonging
❤️ The peace of safety
❤️ The knowing of trust
❤️ The wonder of reality
❤️ The understanding that you are everything
❤️ The completely encompassing light of love
❤️ The acceptance of mortality and therefore the ability to make the most of it
The constant pursuit of happiness is not, in my humble opinion, a terribly worthwhile pursuit as I think it’s impossible to achieve all of the time, leaving us feeling like we are failing, when we are, in fact, living all that we have to live, much of which we have little or no control over, whereas the pursuit of faith in ourselves to survive adversity and then to completely and utterly live life to the full, aware of but not imprisoned by our ‘cherished wounds’, well that seems a much more achievable, meaningful and authentic way to live, that we can all aspire to each and every day.
With love
Nik x
The phrase ‘cherished wound’ is one given to us by Dr Edith Eger, a wonderful psychologist, author, teacher, and holocaust survivor, who continues to inspire people with her compassionate and loving words. A cherished wound is one that cuts deep but rather than continuing to constrain and traumatise us, can be cherished as part of our story and treated with love.
