We’ve all had our moments when the world has turned black, and it seems impossible to breathe. I certainly have.
This year was easily the most difficult of my life, and during these last twelve months, I’ve learned three simple truths about life. I know I needed to figure these things out on my own, but now that I know about them, I wish I’d known them earlier.
Maybe if I had figured them out sooner, my most difficult year would not have lasted quite so long.
I’d like to share them with you.
1. There is no knight in shining armor.
No one is going to pick us up off the bathroom floor and make everything better when the rest of the world has turned its back. Life is full of silent, slow tears in the shower and hard knots filling the pits of our stomachs.
When these days come, we cannot expect someone else to save us. Most of the time, our knight in shining armor has to be your own damn selves, and it’s not going to be fun. It’s not going to be easy, but it’s what we have to do. We need to be the one to pull ourselves off of the bathroom floor and wipe away those tears.
Why? Because either we do it and get better, or we stay exactly as we are: a person who curled up on their own dirty bathroom floor. So, what choice is there really? We get up, and we move on because we have to—for our own sake.
2. People will be kind.
While we may not have a knight in shining armor, we do have guardian angels. Friends, family, and strangers will give small kindnesses that will make our day that much better. During these moments, these people may not even realize how much they are helping us, but that extra smile, those soft words, and that light touch will be everything we could have ever asked for and very much needed right then.
These small kindnesses come around when we least expect them, so we can’t always depend upon them. That is why we must first and foremost depend upon ourselves, but we can never forget that they will come. People inherently want to be good, and they will show that goodness not when we most need it but when we can most benefit from its presence.
3. Only we know what we want.
We get so lost sometimes, it’s hard to find our way back to ourselves. We reach out to others and ask their advice, we search for ourselves in unfamiliar places and activities, and we become blinded by what we should be rather than what we are. However, the way back is not complicated. The way back lies not with a change of place or in our friend’s solace, but within side of ourselves.
It is such a simple notion that we often forget, which is part of the problem. Yet, deep down in our most sacred heart of hearts, we know what we want in life and what the best path for ourselves is. No one else can tell us the answer—only we can find out what we most need. If we ground ourselves for a moment in meditation or contemplative thought and take the time to listen to our gut feeling, we’ll discover our answer.
Then and only then will the way out present itself to us much more simple than ever before.
For more of Brittany Ann’s writing, follow her on her Facebook page.