I’ve learned that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is be someone who can be loved. The rest is up to them.

I’ve learned that no matter how much I care some people just don’t care back.

I’ve learned that just because someone doesn’t love you the way you want them to doesn’t mean they don’t love you with all they have.

I’ve learned that it takes years to build up trust, and only seconds to destroy it.

I’ve learned that it’s not what you have in your life, but whom you have in your life that counts.

I’ve learned that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.

I’ve learned that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.

I’ve learned that either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I’ve learned that sometimes when I’m angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn’t give me the right to be cruel.

I’ve learned that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you’ve had and what you’ve learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you’ve celebrated.

I’ve learned that two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.

I’ve learned that no matter how good a friend is, they’re going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.

I’ve learned that it isn’t always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I’ve learned that just because two people argue, it doesn’t mean they don’t love each other. And, just because they don’t argue, it doesn’t mean they do.

I’ve learned that no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn’t stop for your grief.

I’ve learned that no matter how you try to protect your children, they will eventually get hurt, and you will hurt in the process.

I’ve learned that you should never tell a child their dreams are unlikely or outlandish. Few things are more humiliating, and what a tragedy it would be if they believed it.

I’ve learned that heroes are people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.

I’ve learned that you can keep going long after you can’t.

A question that is often asked is, what is my life purpose? I didn’t realise it until today, that when I think about my life purpose, I see it as an end result, a destination.

The roads I take to get to that destination, are the teaching paths, the learning paths, offered to me by the richness and diversity of the lessons I learn along the way.

In a moment of insight or you could call it illumination the following realisation came to me. That our life purpose is to overcome our own weaknesses, and it is our humanity our desire to reach out, explore and learn new things that is the motivation behind it.

To think of life in terms of reaching a destination, or coming to the end of the need to question, is simply not part of our genetic makeup. Since man first stood upright and walked the earth, his desire to learn and expand his own knowledge and awareness has continued to grow.

It is this growth that keeps us pushing the boundaries further and further outward. It came to me today, that there are no limits to what we can achieve. There is no boundary in a far off place or distant time to which we are restricted. The only limitations we have are those born of our own making. But even they are an illusion, ready to be easily brushed aside the moment a shift occurs in our conscious awareness.

I would like to share with you the following passage by Marianne Williamson from her book ‘A return to love’:-

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Why would we be afraid of our own power, I hear some of you asking yourselves. I believe it is because, by accepting how powerful we are we then have to take responsibility for our lives. Many prefer to see themselves as the powerless victim, because it saves them from having to make difficult decisions, or taking the blame for things when they go wrong.

Have you ever seen the transformation that occurs, when a child or a friend succeeds at doing something they never thought themselves capable of. It truly is an amazing sight isn’t it. It as as if someone switched a light on inside them. This is all because they suddenly realised how powerful they were. We are all capable of the same thing.

My purpose in life is to affirm each day that ‘I am’ living my life’s purpose. It is not in the future it is now in this moment. Physically, emotionally and spiritually ‘I am’ growing, ‘I am’ learning and ‘I will’ continue to keep pushing my own boundaries.

It is often said that there is strength in numbers, many souls standing together in unity. This same analogy could be used with regard to ourselves. By bringing your internal self together, into balance and harmony.

When someone experiences conflict within themselves, the results can be disastrous. For a clouded mind cannot see clearly, emotions unrestrained like a riderless horse, galloping ahead without thought or consequence.

Unruly feelings and thoughts distorting the reality around you. Fear and uncertainty, inhibiting your actions. We lose our own true sense of self, often looking to others for guidance. No one else can advise you for they have not walked in your shoes, seen what you have seen, felt what you have felt. Who are these people to guide you? Do they know what is right for you? No..they don’t, only you, can know this. Never give your personal power away to another.

Never make an important decision in haste, no matter how urgent it may be. Take a step back from what you need to do and calm yourself. When making a decision, heart and mind need to be in unison. If the mind says yes and the heart no, then wait. If the mind says no, but the heart says yes, again wait. Usually some extra piece of information or something you need to see will happen, which will help you to decide.

The inability to make decisions for ourselves can have many root causes, but the most common culprit, is the loss of self belief. Loss of confidence brought about by having made mistakes through haste or bad judgment. So how can we overcome this?

The first thing is to stop mentally beating yourself up over it. What is done is done. We cannot change it, we have probably learned several painful lessons, because of it! Try and take comfort from that, draw a line under it and move on. Do not allow others to keep making you relive it, as excess guilt will only hold you a prisoner to the past and not allow you to move forward. Take responsibility for what happened and then remind yourself that just because you got it wrong once, doesn’t mean you will do so again.

As life beings anew each day, so do you!! Every second of every minute of every day, we change. Our bodies constantly shedding old cells and making new ones. Our minds change by every thought and action we experience. As the student learns and grows from his teacher, so do we. Life is our teacher and our lessons are many and varied.

I ask you to have faith in yourself, for if you do not, how can you expect others to. As human beings we have the gift of resilience as part of our make up. Many before us have experienced great hardships and heartache, but always carried within themselves the light of hope. Hope is what propels us forward and love is what sustains us, when life is fearful and uncertain.

Gather together within yourself your own inner conviction, how you would like your world to be and what kind of life you want to lead. If your intentions are good and always for your highest purpose, then you will succeed.