Life lessons. They take…a lifetime. It’s tough to make conclusive statements about what my life lessons are because… I’m still in the midst of my life - still growing, changing and learning.

Some growth feels subtle, such as… I don’t really know how I got from that way of thinking to this way of thinking; I just realize I’ve changed.  Sometimes it feels more like a growth spurt. Growth spurts can hurt - the heart tears and breaks, the mind suffers, the soul aches.  Then the growth spurt is done and I’ve changed.

Some change feels welcome. Some change does not. Initially.

Sometimes, as change is entering my home, I’m pushing against it with all my might, trying to keep it from coming in. Then, after the struggle (that sometimes lasts years), change is not only inside - it’s in my heart, and I’ve actually become grateful for it, embracing the gift it brought.

Here’s another way to look at it…

There was a pun we said when I was growing up (in Peabody, MA - Boston’s ‘North Shore’). The saying was based on a town that sits on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean (where the sun rises). We’d say it when we ‘got’ something we’d been unable to ‘get’ before.  We’d lightly smack our forehead and say: Dawn breaks on Marblehead. That’s often how learning something new feels.

Life lessons do not ‘just happen’.  We need opportunities that elicit or create learning. 

I believe Soul Family members offer learning opportunities. I believe we (Soul Family members) do this for each other because we love each other and so, want to help each other grow. For example, at some point in eternity, I said to my Soul Family: I want to better understand myself as forgiving, and a member of my Soul Family volunteers to give me reason to forgive. 

And I just want to add this…

Just because love is the motivating factor (for offering a growth opportunity), the opportunity may not feel lovely.  Giving someone reason to forgive (for example) starts with something that may first feel unforgivable. That is not lovely.  Opportunities for growth are gifts – delivered by those who love us - often wrapped as pain-points and challenges. 

There’s an acronym I learned years back that describes this concept – AFGO: ‘Another F-cking Growth Opportunity’.  That sums it up, I think.

So, while I can’t conclusively state what my life lessons are, I (currently) believe that the opportunities to learn
my life lessons often appear as painfully challenging, and are delivered by the souls who love me the most.

So - thank you, my dear Soul Family. Even when the little personal self - me doesn’t ‘get it’, in the longer run, from the bigger picture, I appreciate you.