“For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin – real life. But here was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, or a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that this was my life.”- Alfred D. Souza

The way we have designed life, many of us wait for vacations or weekends to feel like we are living. It’s in the hours between the hustle of daily life that we feel like we finally have the freedom to do what we want. I used to think, if I could just get my sh*t together then I could really live. Then, I would find myself smack dab in the middle of another problem or issue. In the moment when I felt like the seas were calm, suddenly life was rocking the boat again.

It took reading the above quote for me to understand that the problems weren’t outside of my life, but part of my life. The obstacles were apart of the process and I had to go through them to learn what I needed to learn. I kept thinking I lived my life in between the problems, but the problems were the meat of my life. They are the things that are feeding me and helping me to grow.

As people, we like to think that we are supposed to avoid pain, because it hurts. No one wants to hurt, but it really is the best way that we learn. Someone can warn you or tell you something, but you don’t always understand the depth or magnitude until you experience it for yourself. The test is often walking through the painful situation and coming out the other side. You come out with knowledge and compassion for anyone else who is or has gone through the same thing. It is what binds us in the human experience. No one gets out without experiencing pain and obstacles.

The next time you are going through something difficult and those words echo in your mind, “Is this my life?” Remember, that the answer is yes. It’s apart of it. But, the great thing is that the good times are also right around the corner waiting to make things better.