Have you been here before?

At the start of something new? Were you scared?

 

We can learn a lot from unfamiliarity.

Putting ourselves in uncomfortable situations is the surest way to learn what our capabilities and limits are; sometimes it is the only way.

An unfamiliar situation or place is the perfect circumstance to test out your arsenal of experience.

So, why not look at life that way?

Our experience in this particular physical raiment is really nothing more than the opportunity for our souls to learn. In many ways this physical body we all find ourselves in is as foreign to our true selves as snow is to a tropical bird. In a lot of ways, it would not be unreasonable to suggest it may take some of us our entire physical lifetime to even begin to figure it out. However, you would get a lot more out of life if you observe that early on, process and accept it; then, you would be well on your way to learning.

These unfamiliar moments are no different than, and often are, the hard times. Endure them, learn from them, and they will help you to grow. We have to shake this overwhelming fear of the unknown. We absolutely must embrace the chance to learn each and every time it arises. If we do not do this then we are really selling ourselves short. If we do not do this we are stupid and will literally remain so.

Sometimes a change of scenery is good. Sometimes it can make you homesick. It can make you long for all that you know: the things you remember. Sometimes a change of scenery is too much. Other times it is nowhere near enough. And, there are the times when an unfamiliar moment just reeks of a test; as daunting as that can be it is the only time you can really use what you have. While you may find it unfortunate, what you have is not always what you want, but it will usually be what you need.

More often than not all we need to do is be a little more objective.

You usually just need to take a step back and examine the road you have already walked. Take the time to see where you have come from; recount all the things you saw, things you did, all those little experiences along the way. Allow yourself to relish moments like that. You really need to do that.

If you cannot appreciate where you have come from you will never get where you are really going; you would not be here if it were not for the choices you have made. All those decisions you decided, the hard ones and the easy, the good ones and the bad, all helped you get to here. They all helped to get you to this moment of reflection, and though it may seem like a short stop along the way, it is really meant to be a push of encouragement. It can be the moment that offers you a glimpse into the future, it can be the moment that drives you, that moment can become your greatest source of inspiration.

We also need unfamiliar territory for inspiration. Not the kind of inspiration you find outside of yourself, but the kind that you can find within, should you go looking.

We need to inspire ourselves. Simple as that.

People need to stop beating themselves up for the things that happened prior to NOW.

It really isn’t about any of that. The important this is that you are here now, no matter what happened before; no one seems to properly understand that. It does not mean you can go willy-nilly about, being reckless (in every way imaginable). It means you have to learn from the things that happened. Take the good with the bad. The salt in the sugar. Just keep going!

No matter how hard you try to or how much you actually do erase the past, you cannot ever change that it did in fact happen.

Oh, there is something else to keep tucked away: SHIT HAPPENS.

The answer to is all is wrapped snuggly in three little words… Get. Over. It. The sooner you do the better off you will be, no matter how it may seem at the time. I know it is much easier said than done, but the hard part is necessity. We usually shirk the things we need to do in favour of those we want to do, however, in this case there is no arguing. When something happens, when the shit flies out and hits the fan, the best thing you can do is learn and move on; and, as you should expect, the simpler things are often far more complex to achieve.

Remember, there is no escaping. There is no shirking. Whether you get over it now or get over it later, you will have to get over it. Think of it like a bandage: hurts a lot less if you rip it off quickly in one go, going slowly hurts more, pulling each little hair on its way.

Have some gusto. Grow some balls. And, the next time shit happens, and you need a bandage, rip that sucker off!

And, there will be times when you hurt yourself, just a little, and need that bandage. That is alright. It is okay to be unsure of unchartered waters (figurative and literal), but it is not okay to give up; you can never quit on yourself.

Not matter what has happened, it happened, and you will have to make amends, learn what you can, and move forward implementing your new knowledge. Growing pains are a natural, physical part of human life, but equally painful are the growing pains of our soul. These pains hurt in your core, especially when you experience a rush of emotion, and especially when something goes wrong. When you think your heart is broken. Those are the growing pains of your soul. It hurts so much because your soul is imprinting the lesson. It is storing and saving it, so it can continue to learn from it and continue to grow and mature into an even more brilliant light.