amp

“I can’t tel you what to do, sweetheart. That’s something you’re going to have to decide for yourself,”

of a loved one is a very depressing situation, and depression is a normal and appropriate response

In terms of regrets around our loved one who died, if there are things you wish you’d said, know that you can still say them in your heart to your loved one. It’s never too late to say, “I’m sorry. Forgive me and I forgive you. I love you and I thank you.”

It would be unrealistic to have done everything in life. It would also be just as unrealistic to have been perfect and have no regrets. Forgive yourself. ­Isn’t it true that if you could have made better choices, you would have? You did the best you could at that time of your life.

Tears can often be seen as dramatic, too emotional, or a sign of weakness. But in truth, they are an outward expression of inner pain.

Deep inside all of us, we know there is someone we were meant to be. And we can feel when we’re becoming that person. The reverse is also true. We know when something’s off and we’re not the person we were meant to be.

Not all of these lessons are enjoyable to learn, but everyone finds that they enrich the texture of life.

Learning lessons is a little like reaching maturity. You’re not suddenly more happy, wealthy, or powerful, but you understand the world around you better, and you’re at peace with yourself. Learning life’s lessons is not about making your life perfect, but about seeing life as it was meant to be. As one man shared, “I now delight in the imperfections of life.”

On these journeys we may be given a lot, or just a little bit, of the things we must grapple with, but never more than we can handle. Someone who needs to learn about love may be married many times, or never at all. One who must wrestle with the lesson of money may be given none at all, or too much to count.

Each of us has a Gandhi and a Hitler in us. I mean this symbolically. The Gandhi refers to the best in us, the most compassionate in us, while the Hitler to the worst in us, our negatives and smallness. Our lessons in life involve working on our smallness, getting rid of our negativity and finding the best in ourselves and each other. These lessons are the windstorms of life, they make us who we are.