Thr truth shall set you free...

"You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free" has always been one of my favorite quotes---one I memorized loooong before I understood what it meant. I've since learned that you can't know the truth until you're willing to know yourself--and vice versa. Knowing yourself is a lifelong process, with your biggest lessons often emerging from your biggest mistakes.

My biggest mistakes in life have all stemmed from giving my power to someone else--believing that the love others had to offer was more important than the love I had to give to myself. I remember being around 21 years old, and in a relationship based on lies and deceit, down on my knees crying after this guy (some of you know who I mean) walked out on me, for the umpteenth time. As I huddled on the floor, the powerful words that I had memorized throughout my life seemed to almost taunt me. I realized that I don't know a thing about the truth, but I knew I had to make it my business to find out. WHY was I allowing myself to be treated this way?!?!?

It still took me another year or two to finally leave the idiot. I guess I kept hoping and praying things would get better, that he would change. I was always doing things to make HIM feel special. None of it worked, so I started praying for the strength to just end it. I'd pray and wait to feel better....and wait.....and wait. All the while repeating my same old patterns. Until one day I got it. I knew the truth was that while I was waiting on God, God was waiting on me. He was waiting on me to make a decision to either pursue the life that was meant for me or to be stifled by the one I was living. I realized that I am alright just as I am. I am enough all by myself. If I had stayed entangled in that relationship, my life as I know it would never have happened.

What's the truth of your life? It's your duty to know. The truth is that which feels right and good and loving. (Love doesn't hurt. It feels really good.) It's that which allows you to live every day with integrity. Everything you do and say shows the world who you really are.






The following is an exerpt from a book. I can't remember what book I got this excerpt from...or if it was even a book...who knows...I just like what it said:



Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there, to serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson, or to help you figure out who you are or who you want to become. You never know who these people may be (possibly your roommate, neighbor, teacher, fraternal brother or sister, long lost friend, lover, or even a complete stranger), but when you lock eyes with them, you know that at that very moment they will affect your life in some profound way.
And sometimes things happen to you that may seem horrible, painful, and unfair at first, but in reflection you find that without overcoming those obstacles you would have never realized your potential, strength, willpower, or heart.
Everything happens for a reason. Nothing happens by chance or by means of good luck. Illness, injury, love, lost moments of true greatness, and sheer stupidity all occur to test the limits of your soul. Without the small tests, whatever they may be, life would be like a smoothly paved, straight flat road to nowhere. It would be safe and comfortable, but dull and utterly pointless.
The people you meet who affect your life, and the success and downfalls you experience, help to create who you are and who you become. Even the bad experiences can be learned from. In fact, they are probably the most poignant and important ones. If someone hurts you, betrays you, or breaks your heart, forgive them, for they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious to when you open your heart. If someone loves you, love them back unconditionally, not only because they love you, but because in a way, they are teaching you to love and how to open your heart and eyes to things. Make every day count.
Appreciate every moment and take from those moments everything that you possibly can for you may never be able to experience it again. Talk to people that you have never talked to before, and actually listen. Let yourself fall in love, break free, and set your sights high. Hold your head up because you have every right to. Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself, for if you don't believe in yourself, it will be hard for others to believe in you. You can make your life anything you wish. Create your own life and then go out and live it with absolutely no regrets. Most importantly, if you love someone tell them, for you never know what tomorrow may have in store. And finally, enjoy looking forward to learning a new lesson each day and enjoying the journey.