In my eyes, I have experienced things in my life that would make any person cold-hearted and bitter. I have loved the wrong people. I’ve hurt the right people. I’ve had people who were supposed to love me leave me, and I have had the people who created me treat me like I meant nothing. I’ve had to be the strong one for my family, and I’ve often bitten off more than I can chew.
There was a time when all of these things made me bitter and cold. I felt resentment towards the people in my life, and I even felt resentment towards myself. It was easier to not feel anything and to pretend it didn’t bother me than to admit to myself that I was hurt and that I have hurt others. It’s easier to be walled-off and guarded. It’s easier to not let people in. It’s easy to look at things and say “fuck it.” That’s not living though.
We aren’t doing ourselves or anyone else any good by not being true to ourselves. Everyday we turn on the TV or the radio or we go outside and we are constantly bombarded with images, and videos, and we even experience things in our daily lives that tell us the world is a cold, harsh, and bitter place. We are constantly reminded that people suck. But if we allow all the negative things in this world to also make us cold, harsh, and bitter, not only are we missing out on all the positive beautiful things in this world, we are also just spreading more of the negative.
So experience things. Get your heart broken. Make mistakes. Bite off more than you can chew. Get stressed out. Get stabbed in the back by someone you love. All of these things are going to happen to you. They happen to all of us. The key is to not let it change you in a way that isn’t beneficial to you or the world around you. The world can be a dark and scary place, but it’s also bright, and lovely, and inspiring. So take everything in. Let it help you grow. Look at all of the problems in the world and be part of the solution. We have a responsibility as human beings to spread around as much love and compassion as possible.
