Whitney Cain PHD

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Life's a Mess

She’s back!  Our favorite guest blogger, Louise Gray Leonard returns.  This time she brings a timely metaphor about hurricanes and life. Enjoy.

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Although messy, life is perfect. 

Some days you wake up and things seem calm. The world is yours and you dance on the ashes of your past.  Your body aches with an undeniable feeling of joy. 

Other days, you have a hard time twisting your scars into lessons. Your safe places seem few and far between, and the sky seems riddled with clouds that look just like your mistakes.  There are days where you feel like you have nothing left to give. These days make you wonder if you love too deeply; if you care too openly.

You cannot always control life’s ups and downs. Some mornings you wake up ready to cry.  On others you are ready to rejoice and laugh with your whole body. There are moments in life that propel you forward, and there are those that grab you by the ankles and drag you three steps in the opposite direction.  Love may build you the most exquisite house, just to blow it down.

Even on those days when your bones feel heavy under the weight of all the love you hold, you can remember this is a good thing.  You can be thankful for your ability to feel and your ability to give another human being love that is flourishing and alive underneath your skin. 

On plenty of days life won’t make sense.  And that is the point:  Life can be a mess. It can be like a hurricane we aren’t able to contain. And somehow those messes are what make it so stunning and, sometimes, just perfect.  Life is a mess, but it is a beautiful one.

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Photo Credit:  NOAA. (September 12, 2018).  Hurricane Florence Nears the East Coast.  Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/noaasatellites.