Experience is a good teacher but she runs up big hills – Minna Antrim
If life is about learning and growing, why do we think our relationships are beyond life’s classroom? Every relationship – family, friendship, love and marriage – is about growth and development. There are certain skills we need. Certain strengths we must develop. Certain lessons we must learn. Our relationships provide the perfect framework for us. We come together to share, learn and grow. Once we have acquired the skill, imparted the information or learned the lesson, it is time for something else. It is time to move on.
That may feel like, “You don’t love me anymore.” What it actually says is, “You don’t have anything else to give me.” If we could move beyond the emotion of it and look for the growth, ending a relationship, moving out of a family or friendship would be a great deal less painful. We want to learn how to be grateful for everything we get in our relations. Somewhere beyond the grief, fear, pain and disappointment is a mighty lesson just waiting to be learned.
Excerpt from Acts of Faith: Daily Meditations for People of Color by Iyanla Vanzant
