Healing is the Hardest Lesson You Never Learnedfeatured

This blog was born with the intention of writing about all the things they never taught you in school.

To be honest, school was never my thing. I never really was that smart kid, my friends were all smarter than me and that always motivated me to be better.

They taught us all the basics, and I think it’s time to really update the curriculum. What about discovering self, healing, and growth?

I know, I know, if you are not that into any of these words they may sound like hocus pocus things. The things all the self-help books are about… And I hate to say it, they kind of are. Unless you truly open yourself up to learning who you are at your core, you may never get there… you may never know.

Last weekend, I had the chance to share my healing journey with my yogi peers in my yoga teacher training program. And you know what I realized? I have written about my journey to all of you here in this blog but until last weekend, I had yet to share it out loud, live, and in person.

Gosh, when our lead instructor told us we were going to stand up in front of the class and spill our guts to people we had just met I shuttered a bit. I immediately turned into 7-year-old Karen and thought, “No way, Jose!”

But then I quickly shifted to, “What is the worse thing that can happen?” I was in a safe space around people who were going to put themselves out there too – who had all made the mindful choice to explore gentle loving-kindness through movement.

So, in this moment, my palms were sweaty, I kept my hat and glasses on with hopes that no one would see me when I stood up in front of everyone to share my journey to healing.

And guess what? The hat and glasses did me no good, there was no hiding from myself.

I purged all of my life story, from beginning to now.

I found it hard not to cry when I described the little lonely little girl I was while growing up. And at that very moment, I realized she was standing right up there with me. She did so good, better than I could have ever dreamed of. She was nervous but she was speaking her truth in a way she never thought she could.

They never teach us in school that with life comes deep pain and shackles that we will one day need to learn how to release ourselves from.

They don’t teach us about mental and emotional resilience.

They don’t teach us that we need to stop ‘fighting’ for things so that we can allow ourselves to truly gain wisdom from life’s experiences.

Can you imagine learning breathing and meditation exercises in 4th or 5th grade? When you were the most impressionable little human ever?

Can you imagine learning that being authentic and vulnerable can be your greatest strength in life?

I was so busy trying to get by in math class that I never once thought that the process of trying to solve a problem was just as important as the final answer.

I remember standing in front of the whiteboard being forced by my teacher to show my classmates how to solve a math problem I barely understood.

I felt just like I did before I shared my healing journey with my fellow yogis last weekend. Weak in the knees, underprepared, and like a complete faker.

But my math teacher never told me the purpose of walking my classmates through my problem-solving process wasn’t to make me feel like I was going to faint from nervousness, but that it served a greater purpose. Walking through the process allowed me to explore and approach the problem in my own unique way so that maybe others could witness my process and learn how to tackle it themselves.

I don’t know why I started comparing life to a math problem (because I really hate math so much) but let’s just roll with it.

Isn’t life like a math problem? Aren’t we all just on a journey to uncovering what the ‘right’ answer is? While on the lifelong path to healing, you learn that what is right for you may not be right for everyone and that is totally okay.

You don’t need to solve the problem the same way your parents or friends did. Their process may look nothing like yours. And that’s the entire point. We only feel like fakers when we have nothing to compare our experience to. When we problem-solve in a way we were never taught was the ‘right’ way.

So when I shared my healing journey with others I was nervous because I thought I had gone about my journey the wrong way. But once I stood up there, I realized there was no way I could get my own life story wrong.

They never taught us how to retrain our thought patterns in school or the fact that the process was something to immerse ourselves in and be grateful for but some of us have been curious enough to explore these concepts with the intention of living a more purposeful life.

I invite you to share your journey, in the context of healing, your profession, or just general life challenges. You don’t have to say it out loud but just reflect on it.

Who have you been or become along the way?

What lessons have you learned?

What gems can you take from your experiences and apply them in all that you do?

Share your learnings however you see fit. You add value to this world simply because you think and feel in a unique way. Express all that you are and you will impact others and yourself along the way.

Love Deeply and Forever,

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