The Lessons Learned

We are largely defined by the emotion generated by experience. More specifically that definition comes from our reactions to those emotions. Life is very much about the lessons learned and the use of that knowledge.

We spend our life packing and unpacking emotional baggage. The load we bear shifts and changes according to the circumstances we encounter; the insight and maturity we gain. There are times when the weight will overwhelm. At those times we can struggle to find the strength to continue. That strength may be encouraged and even demonstrated by those around us but ultimately it comes from within.

For that reason alone it makes good sense to consciously work on building our reserves of common sense, determination, positivity and love. That takes focus and effort. There will be times when we lack the capacity for either. That does not mean that we are failing or that we have failed. It means we are human.

We are surrounded by teaching moments and learning experiences just as we are surrounded by good and evil. It is up to us what we choose to believe, the direction we will decide to take. We can learn or we can ignore. No-one can choose for us. We are personally responsible. We are personally accountable.

We will not always make the right choice. We will err. We will trip and fall. There are things we will regret. Human being is not easy.

We live our life from experience to experience, encounter to encounter. There is so much that is beyond our control and even outside our sphere of influence that impacts on us each and every day. Acceptance of that is a key to happiness.

But we also live from emotion to emotion and that’s something we can both control and direct should we so choose. A reaction is an instant. An emotion can be a lifetime.