I believe it was Mother Teresa who once said, “Some people come into our lives as blessings. And others, as lessons.”
The problem, though, is in our inability to discern between the two. Our eyes see what they wish to see, even when our hearts plead otherwise.
Please enjoy this passage from my contribution to The Yes Book, a Collection of Writings About Yes.
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“Shrug off the no’s – they are temporary. This is your world. In your world there is only yes.” – Jolene Stockman
“Yes….” Never before had such a word formed so perfectly against my lips; and leaving to its breath-filled wake, the promise of Hope’s greatest adventure.
I had nearly lost all connection to yes – struggling through those many years, lost in a relationship that robbed my will in exchange for my love. I had forgotten what it meant to really be loved; I had forgotten what it meant to be me.
Day after day, I would mourn the beautiful woman I once was – vivacious, sure-footed and confident beyond measure…with a fearlessness to take on any of life’s challenges.
Until one day, I found the courage to say ‘yes’ once again.
Yes to this life… Yes to my spirit… Why yes, even to these torn up shreds of my most favorite jeans… I found my hope tucked safely within the “looking glass” of my dearest friend, who saw in me that which I have always been – one beautiful human spirit, undeterred by the burdens of anyone else’s vision.
Isn’t it ironic how we must often look so very far outside of ourselves to discover this truth within? And, then one day – by the slightest shift in perspective– the heart becomes our guide, once again. My dears, we were born to be limitless – with dreams crafted upon the billows of darkness, and hope tucked safely ‘neath our wings.
We were born to soar.
With Faith soon displacing Doubt’s devastation, instilling within us an unshakeable knowing. Just as the bird feels the warmth of light, even before the darkness has lifted – still she sings, my dears, she sings with all her heart. And in her song, we find the refuge of an unbreakable spirit – valiant in her quest for carpe diem.
And we too can face each day…courageously perched amongst the tallest of trees, with wings extended and eager for flight.
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Read the rest of my essay, “Born to Soar” and many other soul-filling “Yes” passages within The Yes Book, A Collection of Writings about Yes – available now, at your local bookstore.
“Born to Soar” written by Tara Lemieux, as featured in The Yes Book, A Collection of Writings About Yes.
Image of Hope, by Cindy Howe, ArtworksEclectic.
