The longer I am alive, the more I realize that every single moment is actually happening for me. If I choose to see it that way.

Every single mistake.

Every lapsed decision, procrastination, and non-action.

Every “bad” call.

Every missed connection.

Every attempt and fail.

Every embarrassing moment.

Every rejection, insult, and bruise.

Even the moment when I was diagnosed with cancer as a 14-year-old. And the moments that I suffered through chemo and radiation and hair loss. All of it was for me.

I know, I know…it seems totally asinine to make such a claim if taken just at face value.

In all honesty, for most of my life I probably would have held back strong urges to throw dirt (or worse) in the face of anyone who told me that my most excruciating moments were actually gifts for me. Are you kidding, me?!

For one thing, it grossly glosses over the sheer physical and mental pain that one actually experiences when going through these things first-hand; as if they are an easy skip through the tulips. Let me tell you, THEY ARE NOT. And for another, these things truly ARE awful. No one would wish them on anyone.

Yet, I am starting to realize that seeing these moments as gifts doesn’t mean that I mitigate the pain. It means I am making the pain worth it. It means I am making my life worth it. It means I am allowing my life to be more meaningful.

That job position that I was passed up on (multiple times) actually gave me a thicker skin and a chance to get laser focused on what I actually want to do with my life. That guy who rejected me, actually helped me learn to become independent and love myself with or without a partner. That cancer diagnosis gave me a very human story that allows me to be there for people in ways I never thought imaginable.

This shift of perspective didn’t happen overnight and didn’t make the pain go away, but it certainly created the space to re-evaluate how these experiences could ultimately impact my life.

So, what things are you hiding from? What have you buried in the far reaches of the universe to pretend never happened?

What if you took steps to shift your perspective?

What if you could learn something great about yourself as a result of these fearful experiences?

What if these experiences, these awful things, are actually a way for the universe to thrust an un-ignorable disruption into your life so that you cannot avoid the opportunity to gain a new perspective? To see the gift in it for you?

What if your entire life of moments, “good” and “bad” were all happening for you, to benefit you, to help you reach your highest potential?

What if?