Day 199: Growing
Something will grow from what you are going through. This isn't some simple statement that one makes, this is a promise. A direct promise to you and your heart as you walk through what seems like a burning fire. In every difficult situation, something will grow. And that something will always be you.
We all face difficult times. It's part of life that many of us would rather not accept. It's not fun or easy to be tested again and again, to be put through the ringer and then out into the frying pan. No one wants to face hardships, but the truth about it is so terribly simple that everyone seems to miss it. Difficulties are our optimal time for growth.
If you think about on any hardship you have ever faced in your life and really studied the outcome, you would realize you walked away with hundreds of lessons in your back pockets. Situations that are hard teach us more about the world and ourselves than any classroom or book ever could. While we never want to have to go through a difficult situation, it is necessary to face them in life in order to grow.
Growth is the key to living a full life. If we are never growing, we are never improving or strengthening our flaws. Growth keeps us climbing a ladder towards new heights, if we ever think we have "made it" in any area of our lives we are lying to ourselves. Everything can grow at any time, there is always room for more growth and there always will be.
The only thing you have to worry about is how you will grow. It is possible to allow difficult situation to grow you in directions that are not healthy and do not lead to a better life. In fact, it is probably easier to allow hardships to impact you negatively than it is to impact you positively. No one wants to face a divorce, death, job loss, etc. and say "wow what an opportunity this is, I cannot wait to see how I'll grow from this!" It's hardly possible to walk through gut wrenching times and look for the bright side.
Sometimes you have to let yourself go through the situation first. Feel the hurt, the deep pain and all the emotions that come with it. You cannot simply plaster a sunshine bandaid over a rainy day that is weighing down on your soul. You'll be more miserable if you do that than if you ride out the hardship.
It's okay to feel pain, to be down in the dumps, to feel as if the hardship is shifting you towards the wrong direction. The important part is what happens when you begin to see the clouds breaking up and letting the sun through. Never hurry the process of pain or grieving, burying it will only bring it up much later when it has time to build. Wait for the clouds to clear on their own.
That is when you will have the opportunity to choose growth. That is when you can either sink into the mud surrounding you or shake it off and tread towards solid ground. Every hardship leaves its mark, but the important part is whether or not you choose to leave it as an open wound or journey down the path of allowing it to heal. Growth comes with a price, but in the end when you look back it will all be worth it.
Until Next Time,
Lillian Merritt
