{PROMPT: Write an anonymous letter to a stranger detailing the things you’ve learned about life}
Hi, stranger!
It was my birthday recently,
And I’ve been thinking about the things that I’ve learned so far.
In these twenty-seven years of mine.
I’ve learned….
If I don’t like the way something is going,
I can do something to fix it,
And also not to ask too many different people for their opinions on
Which pair of glasses to buy.
I’ve learned that if I have a gut instinct,
It’s usually safe to follow it.
And if I think I can’t hear what my gut is telling me,
I need to try listening again.
I’ll hear it.
My body often KNOWS.
I’ve learned…
That things tend
To get better.
You see, just a moment ago I was fourteen,
Feeling far too invisible and far too conspicuous all at once,
Whimpering at the doorstep of a life
That seemed far too difficult to figure out.
And here I am now,
Twenty-seven!
Life has been so much more beautiful than I expected it to be.
Things may be hard,
But they tend to get better.
I’ve learned that I can do the things that I want to do.
If I want to read through the Bible in a year,
I can do it.
If I want to floss my teeth each night,
I can do it.
All that I need to do is just…
Do it.
And I have learned that the worst parts of myself
Do not define me.
They are not my whole story.
I’ve learned that just because I tend to be a
nuanced,
middle-ground,
listener
kind of person
doesn’t mean that I get to sit by passively
while the extremes rage on either side.
I can act.
I can ask questions.
I can reach out.
I can feel compassion freely for either side,
Without labelling myself as “wishy-washy” or a “pushover”.
There is much room for movement in the middle ground.
I’ve learned that God is a
Joyful flood
That persists in rising even when I have many uncertainties.
I’ve learned that it’s never too late to learn to like something new.
Just in the past few years,
I’ve started enjoying
Spicy food, bananas, cilantro, black beans, “dippy” eggs, January and February, and Indian food!
I’m so glad that I like these things now.
I’ve learned that it’s natural to take up some space.
Hello,
I’m here,
I’m a human,
I take up physical and emotional space.
I’m trying to stop resenting myself for taking up space and sometimes making mistakes or slowing things down.
I take up space.
I AM HERE.
No apology necessary.
I’ve have learned that there are ways of giving instructions and enforcing guidelines that are
Authoritative and gracious at the same time.
I’m learning that family and friends are the most important thing,
and that sometimes I need to be the one to reach out to them,
for their sake and my own.
I’ve learned that the more action there is in a movie, the less interested I am.
ALSO,
I have learned
That
If you are in Ireland, wearing a skirt, and going to the Cliffs of Moher,
You should wear leggings.
It is
Very
Windy
At the Cliffs of Moher,
….And I think that about covers it! (And by that, I mean that we have only scratched the surface here.)
Now I’m curious. I want to know what you have learned about life! Will you share a lesson you’ve learned? Please?
Love,
Anonymous
It’s high time for a giveaway around here, don’t you think? I certainly do!
I’d love to share some of my favourite things with one of you! (Well, I’d love to share with all of you, actually, but that just isn’t realistic.)
This giveaway includes a notebook, the darlingest pencil case, a pen and highlighter in colours I enjoy, and a reed diffuser (white bergamot scented).
To enter, all you need to do is comment on Facebook, Instagram, or right here on this blog post and share a lesson (or several!) that you’ve learned in your life! If you comment with a lesson you’ve learned, you’ll be entered in a draw to win the prize. (If you comment right here on the blog, don’t panic if your comment doesn’t show up right away. It will appear once I’ve moderated it. :))The giveaway will be live until midnight on Tuesday, March 2. I’ll do the draw and post the winner on Wednesday morning.
This giveaway is open to anyone! If you live far away and happen to win, I’ll mail the prize to you.
I’m so excited to find out what lessons you have learned in life!
11 Responses
I love your line about being okay about “taking up space”. That is beautiful. May that space grow larger as you sit at rest. And I share your learning about gut instinct, that it is usually right. I have been learning about listening, and listening to what is inside myself is a part of that.
Thank you for sharing, Tamar! Paying attention to what is inside of ourselves is not always an easy thing to learn to do. You’re brave to embark on the journey.
Ah thank you for sharing your lessons with us Jassy! I’m so glad that I get to be your sister, and that I get to learn from your lessons to:). In my (just about) 16 years of life one thing I have learned is that I don’t have control. I have tried to be in control for most of life, and I think it was just about when Covid started that I realized, I have absolutely no control. And you know, I think it’s for the best this way. I think it’s good that I don’t have control because if I did, I’m not sure what I would do with it. Also I have learned I don’t like tea. I have tried terribly hard to like it, but I simply can’t. Sorry tea.
Aw, Wendy! I’m so glad to be YOUR sister! Thank you so much for sharing these lessons that you’ve learned. I actually recently had a similar revelation in regards to tea. I just don’t love it, even though it seems like I should. You and me… we are SAMESIES!!!
Dear Stranger
Seek out and spend time with diverse people of all ages. Children , teens, young adults, middle age and elderly. Be enthused. Pay attention. Ask questions. Ive learned that being able to interact, converse with an individual at a certain stage of their life gives me perspective and insight. It feels like my brain has been ‘elasticized’ !
This is valuable insight, indeed! And I happen to know from experience that you are a person who makes others feel comfortable and open.:) Thank you for sharing.
I really enjoyed your post! The parts that impacted me the most are about God being a joyful rising flood, that it’s natural for us to take up space, and that in middle ground there is much room for movement.
In my own life, there are so many things that I have learned and am in the process of learning currently, that it is hard for me to choose which one to share. Okay, here it is: I have learned that writing is hard and long work, but it is very rewarding and I absolutely love the interactions with lovely readers it can bring.
Well, I, for one, am very glad that you do the hard and long work of writing! I so enjoy reading the thoughtful and clever posts that you share. And I agree with you on enjoying the interaction with readers. The readers are just so wise and interesting. I rather wish each one would have a blog of their own, because I would love to hear more of their thoughts! Thank you for being a regular reader and interactor in this space. 🙂
The lines about asking too many opinions about glasses and about the joyful flood of God and about the cliffs of Moher all caught my heart.
What have I been learning? That God calls us to unexpected places, and sometimes we actually get what we wanted all along. That pride is a Very Sneaky Thing and wears an enormous amount of disguises. That Gr. 7 students still prefer hot chocolate to coffee–bless their innocent hearts. And that sometimes people and hobbies on the fringes of our memory return to us as new and better friends.
That’s all I’ll disclose to an anonymous person. . . for now.
Also, I have no idea what time zone this blog is in, but my computer says 10:05 pm. 😉
The time of your comment has been noted! 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing what you’ve been learning. They are beautiful lessons, and I particularly can connect with the one about pride being a Very Sneaky Thing. I am amazed at how often pride shows up as the motivation behind my words, actions, or fears!
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