A life is like a quilt. It is put together piece by piece over a period of time. Some of the pieces will be beautiful, intricately detailed and just a mere thought of that time will bring joy. Other pieces will be ugly, torn, dirty and unwanted however without those pieces the uniqueness and beauty of the entire life would be missed. Unfortunately sometimes we have little control over which pieces are being sewn into our life quilt. All we can do is remember that whatever it is we are experiencing no matter how horrible, it is just a part of who we are.
I will admit for the past few years, I believed I had nothing but torn, damaged and unloved pieces to add to my life quilt. All I could see and focus on were the sad and hurtful things I was experiencing. My 30 year marriage coming apart, the loss of my financial security, the dramatic change forced upon me clouded my vision. And while these moments of my life may be ugly, they have ultimately become some of the strongest pieces in my life quilt. Of course at the time and even for some short moments now, I fail to see the beauty of the whole. Nearsightedness obscures the picture. A life is a culmination. It is not and should not be defined by one or two life experiences.
While I am a middle-aged divorced woman, there is more to me than just that. I am a mother friend, Christian, student, game-show contestant, pageant winner, realtor, reader, writer, traveler and that is just a sample of who I am. And there are still so many more beautiful moments and a few struggles to be added to my life.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did so. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Mark Twain
A Fresh New Life 