I hear it all the time. That I am strong to have survived so much in my life. Maybe I am, maybe I’m not. I know that in this lifetime experience I have been challenged in many ways. I have survived each and every one of them. I have also learned that using the knowledge to help others going through the same or similar circumstances is why I am here. Does that make me strong? I shrug my shoulders at that. I know it makes me a fighter, a survivor, and sometimes just a soul waiting to see what’s next.

There are not many who know all of the details of this life’s journey I am on. Is that necessary? For others to know everything? Maybe. My biggest lesson I have learned is the more you talk about the traumas, the challenges, the hiccups of life, the more whole you become. The more you understand who you are and why you are living this life experience. One person doesn’t need to know everything, but everything should be shared with someone, or many, many, someone’s.

I know that life is a school filled with lessons given to us in many forms. No two people ever go through the same lesson plan, but the reason for the lessons is always the same. Learn. Learn. Learn. Learn who you are. Learn what the lessons are trying to teach you. What from each experience does your soul need to understand to make you whole? Be open to the pain, the joy, the laughter, the sadness, the loss.

My lesson plan may be harder or easier than yours. It doesn’t really matter. What does matter is what you do with the knowledge you have gained. Do you use it to make your next lesson easier? Do you hide from the world, wallowing in pain from the most recent or past lesson; not moving forward to the next adventure? I truly believe it’s not what happens to you that matters, it’s how you react to it.

My version is that I bring all the knowledge from this lifetime experience back to my creator, my soul, my data storage of knowledge comprised of many lifetimes. Each one adds to the next, making me unique, special, and an amazing miracle. Just like you.

We all end up at same place in the end. Enjoy the ride.