What a difference a shift in perspective makes. Frankly it can change everything you believed to be true.  Sometimes that shift comes suddenly, with the passage of time or in light of new information, but it does come. (Here's a 20 second video my kids made to show the power of perspective.)

How often have we found ourselves in the midst of some form of adversity, thinking we cannot endure what is ahead…. and then we somehow do and we find a reason for gratitude in that mess?

How often have we felt lucky beyond measure only to reflect back and rue the day that the supposed good-fortune landed in our lap?

I can recall times when events were seen in a new light and left me humbled by the new knowledge I gained, because things were quite different from what they had seemed.  There were times I judged a person’s situation, intentions or choices to find out later how off-the-mark I was in my assessment.  Sometimes that brought about feelings I was not proud of.  There were times I decided who a person was; what they were made of; whether they were a person of integrity or one with good intentions; and then I was let down and disappointed to learn they did not deserve the pedestal I had created for them. Of course this was my fault, not theirs, because I placed them there.

Some of the greatest teachers in my adult life have been people who have hurt me, let me down or were careless with a confidence or my trust. I wonder if that is true for you? The thought that I would one day thank them for these events would have never occurred to me at the time of the infraction. Never.  But now as I am evolving into a woman who constantly looks for the place to grow and become more conscious of life and my role in it,  I am blessing it all. I am choosing to “bless the mess.”  This does not mean that I am happy about these infractions, only that I can acknowledge and even celebrate what rose from their ashes.

When I had the chance to meet the author of Body-for-Life and thank him for the change he precipitated in my life,  I could not have known the many epiphanies that were ahead. When I placed my beautifully wrapped,  newly released book, The Soul Salon, in his hands,  the gift hardly housed an ounce of gravity as he whisked it off to the hands of his assistant in a sweeping motion.  There was never an acknowledgment of my gift either in that conversation or anytime after. That book that mentioned him on the gratitude page was never really received.  That was one of a few instances of disillusionment that would unfold that would have me connect with my inner compass and ask myself what was behind my feeling of being wounded like a child?  Although this is certainly on the list of teeny infractions, it housed a lesson I needed to learn. That lesson is to be your own authority figure.

Now my hope is that I will relinquish any desire to cubby-hole a person.  When we label people, we run the risk of finding out that we are wrong and risk losing the simplest and most-real gift:  connection.  In the example I wrote of above, I am grateful for being nudged a little further into spiritual adulthood. I was presented with an authority figure of sorts who would not give me what I sought at that moment, acknowledgment. Sometimes our teachers, spouses, strangers, family members are actual teachers too.  Our teachers are people who are placed on our path or share our timeline–however briefly–to leave us smarter, clearer of our values and boundaries.  And many times those lessons hurt.  The gift is an awakening of sorts and that awakening will insist that we no longer participate in the illusion.

My wish for you today is that you navigate each one of those events with grace, clarity and peace.

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All the best,

Rena M. Reese

Founder, Soul Salon International

Rena M. Reese is the founder of Soul Salon International, an inspirational multimedia company. She is the author of several inspirational titles, a life coach, a professional speaker and the host of a weekly radio program, The Soul Salon. For more inspiration and information about her speaking and classes, please visit www.SoulSalonInternational.com.