It's All In How You Frame It.

The other day, someone said to me, “You have had a really tough life.” This comment surprised me, I thought that I had given up all the old stories years ago, but here was someone mirroring for me what they saw to be my truth; that damn mirroring technique that God created is so powerful when we recognize it for what it is. Mirroring shows us what is still lurking in the recesses of our sub-conscious mind. And it is always about us and the way we see ourselves. Really. The person was referring to my divorce, raising three young daughters by myself, financial struggle, and the pre-mature death of my second husband preceded by the difficulty of raising 7 teenagers (4 of whom did not have my blood running through their veins). Opening a business and losing hundreds of thousands of dollars to a dishonest business partner forcing me to to close the doors. Yes, I did experience these things but it is not the experiences that define me.

I imagine myself in my pre-existence before I incarnated as Terri Kennedy sitting at a computer writing the program for my life. A program which would teach me the lessons I still needed to learn using an algorithm of choices; A program that insured that any choice I made would result in my growth. Growth can be seen as messy or as an ever expanding, changing set of circumstances that repeat until we get it right. And when we get it right? And we hold our power? There is nothing that feels quite as wonderful. I look back on my life and the path of choices I walked, all of it, the good, the bad and the ugly. Now, I see a beautiful path of golden light sparkling with knowing, shining with triumph, glittering with growth. How I got here is irrelevant. I let the experiences of pain and trauma go to embrace all that they offered me; such amazing, splendid gifts. I am who I am because of where I have been, but where I am going is what concerns me now.

So when this person made this comment to me, I responded automatically, “My life has been triumphant! I have amazing, grown up daughters and step-sons, brilliant grandchildren, a partner who "gets me" and many friends all who surround my life with love.” What more could I want? What I want is to be a fully realized Human Being, to keep climbing and learning no matter what experience life throws at me. Bring it on!

Look at your own life. Drop the story. Find the sparkling gift hidden within it. And always remember the secret to finding peace and happiness is ALL in HOW you frame it!