“Life is amazing. And then it’s awful. And then it’s amazing again. And in between the amazing and awful it’s ordinary and mundane and routine. Breathe in the amazing, hold on through the awful, and relax and exhale during the ordinary. That’s just living heartbreaking, soul-healing, amazing, awful, ordinary life. And it’s breathtakingly beautiful.” L.R Knost
I love this quote above because it shines a light on something most of us want to ignore, avoid, and hate about life – life is hard and there are struggles and that is normal. There is nothing wrong with you for having a hard time in life.
You are not alone in feeling like life is hard and challenging. Every single person on this planet struggles in some way. Whether they share it with you or not, whether their lives look perfect and peaceful or not. No one has everything perfectly lined up and no one is safe from experiencing hardships.
There is a huge misconception people have about life and how it is meant to be a certain way. That if there are challenges or struggles there must be something terribly wrong with you or with life and that there are a set a “normal” people that somehow are different and escape the hard parts and smoothly sail through life unharmed. It is not true! And it keeps you stuck.
It doesn’t matter how wealthy you are, how perfect your childhood was, how beautiful you are, how many degrees and achievements you have – life is hard at times, mundane at times and amazing at times for ALL.
The simple acceptance of this realization can bring you a level of deep peace. There is nothing wrong with you nor is it your fault that life is hard sometimes.
Knowing that others have been there and got through it or that you are not alone or wrong for feeling this way is what Dr. Kristen Neff calls Common Humanity and it is one of the elements needed for Self-Compassion.
Self-compassion is one way to support yourself through healing and experiencing the ups and downs and in-betweens of life. This is something I work with clients on every day, and it can change your life.
If you struggle with time, motivation and rushing through life – Check out my latest article on Tiny Buddha here!
UNLIMITED Love + Light,
Orly
