Your Tapestry
Have you ever looked at your life as a tapestry? For those of you who do not know, here is one of the definitions of the word:
"used in reference to an intricate or complex combination of things or sequence of events."
I am sure that you are like every other human on the planet. You have had good moments, and bad ones. You have tasted success and defeat. You have (hopefully) felt love - and had your heart broken, possibly more than once.
Today I want to challenge you to do something.
As I watched a show last night, one of the characters was struggling with the actions of another character that brought him great pain in his life - as the second character had driven under the influence, and had killed the first character's mother. One of the points of the show was that - though his Mom's death was tragic and brought him great pain at an early age - part of who he was now came from that event.
You see, everything that you experience in life forms a tapestry. Some of the "threads" are beautiful in color, and some are dark - even black. Without the dark ones, however, the bright ones would not shine as brightly by comparison.
No one wants to go through the tough times, the losses, the painful relationships, or the deaths. We all want the fun times, the loving relationships (preferably without a lot of drama), the relatives who live into their 90's, and events that create pure joy in our lives.
My challenge for you today is this: Stop looking at the "dark threads" in your life as bad things or bad people. Start looking at them as part of your life's tapestry. ALL of the people, events, and experiences in your life have come together at just this moment to make you WHO YOU ARE. If some of these "bad" threads did not happen, you would be less of a person. You would not be able to relate to (and possibly inspire) others who are going through what you have already endured.
By your living through your hard times, you have probably developed more Character, more Compassion and more Patience with others.
You have become Stronger. You have become more Resilient.
You have become a BETTER YOU.
So be THANKFUL for ALL of the good AND the bad things, people, and experiences in your life.
Without all of them, your tapestry would be pretty dull.