Living Life Between Life...

“Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness. How do you know this is the experience you need? Because this is the experience you are having at the moment.”

~Eckhart Tolle

Over the years, I have come to realize that (in life) events/things often occur simply to challenge you. More than not, they don't reveal their real purpose (at the time) but who said everything needed to be proven; that everything had to have a deeper meaning than the obvious? Who said that I needed to see the different perspectives in a situation, or listen to the different opinions?

Why is it that being a better person translates into you always having to keep an open mind and learn… learn from life… accept that your life is and will always be a never ending classroom. This particular classroom is full of lessons on how you might have been wrong and how to be better… and all this at unexpected times… Can I have a break? Sometimes… and just be me, without having to question whether or not I’m right or wrong. I really desire to just accept things at face value - as “it is what it is.”

Many of the greatest lessons we learn in life aren't sought on purpose. They fall into our path in response to our actions or events we happen to witness.  In fact, life’s best lessons are usually learned at the worst times and from the worst mistakes. While I recognize when I’m making wrong choices, wrong moves, or just having the wrong attitude, I sometimes wish that accepting my wrongs would be enough for me to just turn the page and move on. Wouldn't that be wonderful? 20 years ago I would have answered this question with a fast, non-questionable, strong, unwavering YES. Yes it would be wonderful because life was all about me and nothing further than the 5 inch radius around me… Today, with every fiber of my being, I know - because I have come to learn, that life is much more than the little 5’4’’ person that I am. Life wouldn't be wonderful if I didn't seek further than the obvious.

Every moment of our lives is a story, it is a lesson…

“Life” is learning and living our life’s lessons. Life is a never ending test in a never ending classroom, which started from our entry into this world and ends when we’re taking our last breath…

The other day on my Facebook page, I was making light (actually, I was very upset) of the approaching wrath of Hurricane Sandy on the northeast region right before my business trip to NJ. I was actually bitching about something as trivial as spending money on getting my hair done and the fact that the humidity from the storm would make all my efforts (and the money spent) a waste… Now everyone knows that black people’s hair is nothing to mess with and that our worst enemy when it comes to hair is humidity… So yes, that was my sole focus. And while I’m bitching and venting (very seriously) on Facebook about Sandy and the damages she is about to have on my planning, a friend of mine “called me out” and commented, “Ah could not help but laugh! lol. Well if it makes you feel better, Sandy will be creating more disasters. More serious than hair :-) you will still be fab.” That brought me straight back down to earth… For just a moment, my focus, my priorities and my foresight was single minded - it was all about me. It was all about the universe ganging up on me and messing with my plans. There was no bigger picture. There was just me and the trivialities of my issues. In life, we encounter situations that challenge and test our determination our commitment to be better. And sometimes, those moments come about at the most impromptu times, catching us off guard at your most pathetic moments…

We all know that every single moment of our lives is of importance. It has in-built unpredictability that brings about lessons to be learned. And with that, it makes it very challenging for one to remember all the teachings that should guide us forward.

Wanting to be a better person doesn't make us automatically better. It is okay to sometimes let your guard down and see what comes out. I am not perfect and I never will be. I make mistakes and bad decisions, and I stumble and fail at times. I am human. Being a better person and understanding the importance of the world around me is a practice that I am still tangled in. The lessons are still arriving at my doorstep daily and I have to concentrate on coping with them and maintaining them as a way of life. There are some essential ones; like learning that although you have to be your own priority, you can’t forget to be considerate of others. So sometimes, some of life’s lessons have to come back for an encore or two for it to sink in. Hopefully, we ever continue learning and become better able to deal with life's events…

Life’s unexpected lessons are not always wanted...

“IT happened. There is no avoiding it, no forgetting. No running away, or flying, or burying, or hiding.”
~Laurie Halse Anderson

Events in our lives take place that we must all deal with. Sometimes, we don't make the best choices or take the best steps to deal with Life's events and its lessons - but these moments make our life and provide us with valuable memories.
When situation arise and before life's lessons are learned, we are allowed to have a work/vacation so we can be more receptive and open to the lessons that will come out of it and the next set of lessons that we feel we are going to need to master.
All seems to be right on time and occurring when it does and how it is dealt with (good or bad). Lessons learned too late? Fell in love for first time too late? Learned patience too late? Learned gift of passion too late? Discovered authentic self too late…

Too late?... there is no such thing as too late. Sometimes our minds are just not ready for the bigger picture at a particular moment but that doesn't mean it will never be ready. Never lose hope because life won’t end if you decide that today needs to be about you, your feelings, your tantrums, your issues and your needs. Just keep in mind whatever happens while being true to yourself, happens for the best and each moments that you take for yourself are the starting ground for new beginnings, afresh with a new stories and once again teaching us new lessons.

Thank you Teddy N. for calling me out (nicely J) and reminding me that there are different perspectives in every situations and keeping that in mind you quickly realize that your predicament is nothing to fuss over even if you weren't ready to acknowledge the obvious lesson… There is always shoddier situation than yours… It is obvious that we are a constant work in progress.

At the end of our lives, there won’t be nothing other than memories which sums up all of our moments, big, small, insignificant, or important and it is all going to be about how we beautifully turned around those moments into meaningful situations which we could look back on and feel good about the person we ended up being at the end of our journey from the lessons we learned.

To realizing that life lessons are commitments that we have to work on daily...

 RosieSandz

Picture Courtesy of vi.sualize.us