Sometimes, You Only Learn Through Experience

Sometimes, you can only learn through experience. I have learned this lesson more and more as time goes on. You see,

I have been there to console a friend when they have their family turned upside-down.
I have held them when they've cried and cried and had too much that Friday night.
I have listened to stories of working with physically or mentally disabled persons.
I have counseled others as they told me their heart's confusion as they've fallen in love.
I have watched companions turn into who they promised they would never be.
I have observed souls falling into confusion over why someone speak anything but the truth.
I have heard conversations where a word was never spoken between two people.
I have seen the results of one statement causing an uproar of laughter or anger.
I have watched sinners become saints.
I have seen the hurt, the joy, the love, the humor, the friendship, the faith, and life itself happen.

However, it is one thing to KNOW that life happens and quite another to actually live it. It is not living until I take part in it. And it isn't empathy until I know what something feels like first hand. Otherwise, it is as though you have seen a play about these emotions.

I am living when I know what it feels like to live in an unsettled household.
I am living when I have cried until I can't anymore, and my friends are still by my side, loving me.
I am living when I allow myself to be taught by children who cannot speak or move or play.
I am living when I see the view for the sky instead of the concrete fields.
I am living when I fall in love.
I am living when I realize I am not who I want to be and then I take an active stand to change that for the better.
I am living when I search for answers and ultimate truths because they make the biggest difference in the way I go about my life.
I am living when I have been lied to, when I have lied, when I discover what self preservation is versus what value the truth holds.
I am living when I have such a connection with a friend that we don't need to talk to have a discussion.
I am living when I am open to the fact that I am not called to be perfect, but I am called to be a saint.
I am living when I define who I am instead of waiting for others to define me.




When are you going to start?