I have a sign in my kitchen that reads: “Life is fragile, handle with prayer.” This plaque helps me to remember that I am not in charge. It reminds me that life is a river, a stream of consciousness that runs through me and all around me. It moves in spite of me, with or without my consent. I am only along for the ride. I can either enjoy the trip, or I can be miserable. I can either reach out my hand to help others, or I can shut down and push them away.

Every day I have to stop, meditate and pray. In so doing I remember that life is a gift, as well as a mystery. When I stop, meditate and pray, I enter into the Great Mystery’s dream for me. I am able to remember who I am and why I am here on Mother Earth. Every day I choose whether or not to participate in the Creator’s dream for my life. It’s always a choice, a conscious choice.

I have come to understand that life is a classroom. It is the teacher and I am the student. Like you, I am continually presented with lessons, sometimes, one right after the other. Like you, I can complain and dig my heels into the mud, or I can take a deep breath and move forward in trust and faith. I can rail against an unjust God, or I can humble myself and ask my soul to guide me. I can disown offending parties, or I can make allowances and pardon them. I can sink into a well so deep that I can barely see the light of day, or I can let my inner spiritual light lead the way out of darkness. Like you, I can act out with substances or behaviors that harm me, or I can address my behavior with the help of others.

Ultimately, I must learn the lessons life has presented me with. After all is said and done, after all the feelings and resentments, after all the pain and suffering, I alone am responsible for my own joy and spiritual growth. Like you I can take a giant detour and find fault with others. I can assign responsibility for my unhappiness to others for months, years or even lifetimes. The choice is mine and mine alone.

Blame can even be useful up to a point. It temporarily insulates me from pain. Sometimes it protects me when I am too vulnerable to act. It can give me the space I need to heal and lick my wounds. However, as I heal, and my soul matures, I understand that revenge and hatred poisons me more than it does those I plot against in my mind. Eventually I come to understand that I have to find my way towards forgiveness. Otherwise bitterness and broken relationships become the sum total of my life. I will have wasted this gift called life. I will have squandered my existence.

Life is simply life. It does not single me out for pain or disappointment. Like you, the life I have is the life I chose before I came to this earth plane. My soul knew what lessons I needed to learn. My soul, like yours, set the stage and set me afloat in the river at exactly the right spot, with precisely the right people.

Life here on Mother Earth provides me with opportunities to grow spiritually. My attitude and how I choose to live is up to me. Like you, my soul urges me to accept life on life’s terms. I can either find a way to make peace within myself, or I can be miserable and make others miserable right along with me. It’s my choice.

Life is a journey, regardless how long or short it is. My soul, just like yours, came into this earth walk with a purpose. My body, like yours, is temporary housing. My carefully constructed plans are often overturned. Re-directs and U-turns are a part of my soul’s journey. My job is to learn to go with the current and not against it. My job is to keep my head above water and to find the strength and faith I need to keep going. My job is to help others, and when in need, let them help me.

No one said it would be easy. This classroom called “Life,” takes much more of a commitment than four years of college and another two for a graduate degree. The lessons and the rewards are never ending. They continue decade after decade. At times it all seems so easy, and sometimes it is very difficult. Like you, I will not progress to the Higher Plane until the day I take my last breath and the silver cord that connects me to my physical body is severed. When I stop, pray and meditate I am encouraged to embrace life, to say “Yes” to life.