Saturday
Dec172011
Still learning...
December 17, 2011 * * * * * Posted by: Anyes
"You don't choose your family.
They are God's gift to you, as you are to them."
-Desmond Tutu
For a few months now, there has been lots of nagging questions popping up in my head. The kind having to do with the spiritual side of my life. Those unanswered questions showing up late at night when everyone is sleeping and I can hear myself think...
What is life all about?
What are the lessons I need to learn?
Who is my teacher?
Who is my teacher?
I have always been a firm believer that all of us chose our parents, prior to being born. They are our very first teachers. The ones who will guide us and give us the fundamentals of what our soul needs to be working on later in life.
Once this is understood, my family dynamic takes a different shape. It feels more like a classroom where you get to have teachers and fellow students. All those years I have been looking at my childhood as a learning experience. It was there, to give me what I needed to learn, to become who I had to be. Looking back this helped me to understand the very rough patches. I did not think this way as a child. As a young woman struggling to find my way, it helped me find reason where there was none. Some of it was good and some of it was not so much, but as a whole it has taught me a lot. Those early life lessons have prepared me to be the woman I am today.
Life is coming full circle and now is the time for me to go back home. I can finally make peace with it all, being able to look at the gift my parents actually are. Being grateful for having chosen them will allow me to really taken in what they taught me. I am blessed to be able to do this. I know, as experience has shown us recently, we cannot always say goodbye to those we love. The physical distance also allowed me to take more of an observer role and to get a fresh perspective. I feel grateful to finally be able to see it all with a forgiving and loving heart. In truth, it was a part of the lessons I needed to learn. This is what I chose to believe. :-)
Here we are, my last Vision and Verb post until the New Year. I wish all of you a wonderful and festive time with every one you love, whether you celebrate Christmas or not. A New Year filled with love, health and fresh perspectives is my wish for you all.
* * *
I will be unable to comment back until sometime this coming Monday. I will be sure to come and visit all of you once I am in France.
tagged childhood, forgiveness, spirituality
childhood, forgiveness, spirituality
Reader Comments (15)
Hope you will have a safe trip to france and all will turn out for the best, keep faith dear Anyes, and thanks for sharing all your thoughts in 2011 here with is at V&W
Have never before considered the possibility that we once chose our parents as teachers who will teach us whatever life-lessons we need to learn. It really does put a whole other spin on 'family'. Lots to think about here...
And - love..love..love your magical sparkly image!!!
Even though I come from a conservative, fundamentalist background, Anyes, my spirit resonates with what you have written here. It has an astrological and reincarnational feel to it, which over time makes more and more sense to me. Even as my parents needed forgiveness, so do I. Let's hope it's a cycle that lives on with perpetuity, since we all need it!
Yes, a lot to think about at this time of the year when family gets together. Thank you. And now, bon voayge to France. Seasons Greetings!
it is great to begin my day away from home on the 53rd floor overlooking a metropolis that appears fictional by reading your post with an image that is magical as well.
vision and verb offers an opportunity to read the thoughts, ideas, and views of others and...learn. learning is good. it leads to growing, and it is surely the direction to head. what else?
thank you for the essay on your own journey. merry christmas.
Hey Anyes, I'm pretty sure you must be a good teacher, yourself ... safe travels and happy holidays!
I love what you did with the photo, two of my favorite things, water and sparkly light. I don't know about picking our parents. I spent most of my childhood crying up to the heavens to "Please get me out of here! I don't belong with these people!" But maybe that's an adoptee thing.
Have a lovely time in France. I'm looking forward to reading more of your thoughts in 2012.
It is an entirely new slant on parents as teachers. And here I was rebelling against their lessons! Good one...and blessings on your holiday.
Anyes, this evokes a lots of thoughts in my mind. As I have always said that your loved ones and friends you choose and your family is what you get. One have to find a balance in all this. My philosophy is that one doesn't have to like all people but we all have to interact in a good manor with everyone. Then we can save the best parts of ourselves to those we love and have chosen too have close. I hope this makes some sense?! ;-)
Have a lovely trip to France.
I love the thought of having chosen our parents. So far, only one person has ever mentioned this to me (right before my daughter was born) and I liked the thought back then as well.
Have a safe and lovely journey to France, enjoy your time and all the best for the new year.
Several friends have expressed the thought that we choose our parents... All I can say to that is, if that is true, I made a perfect choice. Spiritualy there is so much more to say...
I wish you and your family a wonderful holiday season :-)
Anyes, what a gorgeous image!! Your words reflect my own experience this time around. Pema Chodrin says, "Failure is not a punishment; success is not a reward; they are both ordinary occurrences." The whole of life is our lesson...every bit of it.
Safe travels and many blessings in this season hope, joy and love.
What is life all about?
What are the lessons I need to learn?
Who is my teacher?
i've always believed that teachers come in so many different guises, people who come into our life...for a short time or long...and show us something, or lead us somewhere. sometimes i haven't realised the importance of them until afterwards....and at other times i learned something from what was a rather awful experience... teachers can be both good and bad i guess. lovely post anyes x
To all of you commenting here, a big thank you! This post was very personal for me to write and I am glad it resonated with you. I am now in France and will now take the time to come by and visit with all of you :-)
family is such a complex word, filled with nuance and emotion. it is beautiful to think that we choose them in advance, what a lovely post!
I look at all the people as teachers, but I guess parents are life-long teachers... Learning every day is the best thing ever!
Have a safe trip to France and happy new year to you, too!