Life is filled with lessons and boy, have I had my share! Some life lessons are simple, like the time I forgot to add baking soda to a bread recipe or when I accidently locked my keys in the trunk of my car. While other lessons are colossal, like when my poor choices landed me on the cold, stone floor of rock bottom. Usually the really big lessons follow a string of smaller ones that we simply ignored. Yes, life tries nudging us awake when we are misaligned with our purpose or heading down an unhealthy road, and if we brush aside these warnings, we invariably end up learning the hard way. I can't express enough how much smoother and pleasant life is when we pay heed to those soft whisperings of our soul and immediately course correct.
So what causes us to shun these invaluable forewarnings? Ah, the list is long, so here's just a few - indiscretion, addiction, denial, fear, instant gratification, obsession, resistance, foolishness, greed, desperation, ego, insecurity, dependency, hopelessness, and a reluctance to let go.
The people around us may recognize our plight and offer advice or assistance, however we can only get to where we need to be, when we're ready. In other words, we have to want change. No one can hand us the wisdom or roadmap that will get us there. It's a choice we make when we're done playing small; when we're willing to face the truth; when we're ready to reshape our lives. The most anyone else can do is plant seeds, offer support and encouragement, and love us through the process.
Unfortunately, when we repeatedly disregard the small lessons and nudges, and choose learning things the hard way, sometimes we have to fall in order to get the message loud and clear. How far we plunge often depends on how far we've strayed from our essence. I've written about this indepth in both my books, and touch on it here as well. Suffice to say, it is a brutal life-altering experience that, even with the eventual gains, I wish on no one.
Yet pain tends to motivate growth, and the greatest lessons of all will often bring our pain straight to the forefront. These tough lessons reveal insights into how we've been sabotaging, hurting and deceiving ourselves. They teach us how to heal, cherish who we are, regain our health and power, and accept full responsibility for our lives. These major life lessons show us the way back to ourselves, and to the life we've always sought to live.