Life Lessons from Facebook
Guest post by Marla Ernest
I like to think that everything, positive or negative, is a learning experience. Recently, proof of this came to light in the most uncommon way. It was a simple social media post. It went like this.
Friend: Killing me softly with his song. : (
Me: Well, don't listen to that song then. Time to change stations.
Friend: I totally love the song.
Me: And I totally understand. Sometimes, you have to listen to the sad song until the dance music starts.
Friend: Yeah. The sad song lasted like 2 seconds. Then, I was listening to Prince, "Kiss."
It's a metaphor, right? Do you see what I see? Hmmmmm . . . the inner voice speaks deep and powerful truths.
We can choose to focus on the sadness, or we can choose to focus on the blessings in life. Recently, I have had some very painful experiences that have brought grief to my life. Yes, I walk through that pain. I grieve, I cry, I hurt. Then, I find the good in the situation. When I went through my double mastectomy, I could have lived in the place where I mourn the loss of body parts, but I choose to move past the illness and live in the place where I am extremely grateful that the cancer was caught early. I choose to focus on the fact that I get to continue to live and grow. When I lost my uncle to a lung infection, I wept.
I could have lived in the place where my heart hurts, because he is no longer here with us, but I choose to move past the grief and live in the place where I enjoy the memories I have of conversations about family and life. I choose to focus on the relationship that I was lucky enough to have with him. Sadness is there. We have to pay attention to it and move through it. But, oh those happy times. They are the things in life that shine, that bring us hope, that remind us why we're here.
Let the sad songs play. Then, dance, my friends! Dance!
Marla Ernest, M.Ed., is a breast cancer survivor, mother, grandmother, and educator. When she isn't writing for her blog whoneedsboobsanyway.weebly.com, she is making art and jewelry specializing in healing stones. Marla is an English as a Second Language learning facilitator and holds a Masters degree in Education with an emphasis on curriculum and instruction. Her goal is to help others heal their physical, emotional, and spiritual bodies through humor, honesty, and the gifts of our earth.