28 Life Lessons
Cheers to 28 years around the sun!
I’ve always wanted to put together a list of things I’ve learned in my life on my birthday, so here it goes.
Here are 28 lessons I’ve learned in my 28 years of life:
Pay attention to how you do the little things: the laundry, the dishes, the bed, your skincare routine, … These are done daily and it’s important to find joy in them. Otherwise, you’ll be spending most of your time wishing you were some place else!
Release and let go of anything or anyone that doesn’t spark joy. Especially material things but this also means relationships, food, tv shows, alcohol,… The reason I mention food is because sometimes we enjoy eating certain foods that may cause an upset stomach, headache or physical pains. That isn’t joyful. In fact, it deprives you of feeling good so even though the food item tastes good, if it doesn’t make you feel good after, might be good to consider reducing the amount!
The voice in my head is not me. Oh this is a big, transformational one indeed. The thoughts in my mind are not me, neither are the stories playing. What a relief!
Answers are found in the silence when the mind is quiet
Everyone goes through pain and challenges. Suffering is optional and I’ve come to learn it’s a choice we make. It occurs when one chooses to stay in the same story without taking responsibility for their own happiness
Life and death are closer to each other than I’d like sometimes. My birthday falls on May 4th and my aunt passed away on the 5th. She left exactly 10 years ago today, a day after my 18th birthday, teaching me that both life and death are part of the same cycle
I can be who I want to be at any moment. I get to decide how I want to experience certain things & I can always begin again
Don’t be so hard on yourself. Most likely you just didn’t know better at the time. You did the best you could at the time with what you knew and what you experienced
Nothing will kill your soul faster than forcing yourself to fit in when all the soul craves is to be free & boundless
Take risks. Take leaps of faith throughout your life. You will most likely be pleasantly surprised
Don’t stay mad for too long. Not at yourself, nor your friends or family or even strangers! And if you do get upset: COMMUNICATE! Share with the other why it is you’re upset or angry in a calm, non-aggressive way. Don’t ever repress your anger thinking it’s bad. It’s just showing you that you can take another way, that you have another choice!
Instead of being emotionally reactive, catch that second before you spiral out of control to mitigate the damages. There’s this split second where you can shift the whole experience by not reacting the way you are used to. Instead you choose to be present and to send light to the situation!
Everyone wants to be loved & cared for. No exceptions here. Everyone means everyone. (so love everyone, even if they’ve done you wrong)
No one is paying attention to me the way I am. Most likely, I’m my worst judger and critique!
The universe doesn’t experience itself without me. How cool is that! I get to be a part of this wonderful tapestry and experience the whole universe within this small body of mine!
I don’t suck at anything!!! I may have less experience in certain things like cooking or public speaking but with practice, I can get better at anything I intend to and set my mind to!
Slow down from time to time. Finding balance between doing and being- always a balancing act, never perfect but one that can enhance your life so much when it’s equal!
My intuition is always guiding me towards the path of least resistance. Meaning when I’m in alignment, things flow my way without my own doing. Instead, everything responds to how I’m feeling!
The universe is a boomerang. What I am, who I am, how I am is what I’ll experience here on this plane. My energy, own feelings are my point of attraction.
LOVE. 1) Choose love over fear. 2) love what you do 3) love doing the mundane things and 4) love everyone, even those that may have hurt you. They are your teachers
Speak your truth. NO matter how uncomfortable it makes you or others. Share your gifts with the world :)
Be of service every single day to yourself and to others. My mantra these last few months has been: show me what you will have me do. I am in service of you, God, Source. I am receptive and I allow you to work through me
Everything is a blessing. Trust the process, the journey. Trust the lack of clarity for more clarity
You owe it to yourself to believe in yourself, to accept yourself, to walk your path. Be your own best friend, support system, mother, father, guide, teacher
Keep your heart open no matter what. Express your true feelings, even if it’s hard
Forgive everyone for everything. Forgive yourself. Forgive those that have asked for forgiveness and forgive those that haven’t
Know beyond any unreasonable doubt that you don’t know. Accepting that you don’t know gives you space to learn more. Never stay stuck in your beliefs, in your thoughts! That will only create rigidity and inflexibility!
Nobody steals your power. You give it away when you seek acceptance but don’t receive it. You give it away when you expect an outcome and don’t get it. You decide to reclaim your own power. When you do, you will become unstoppable because you’re no longer waiting on others to approve of what you’re doing anymore, you just do what feels intuitively good for you
This is what 28 is about for me: to reclaim my power that I so freely gave away when I decided that others could affect me. I finally feel like I’m closing a chapter where I needed acceptance & opening the one about self-acceptance. I am who I am, and I love who I am, and who I am is great. Took me about 28 years to figure this one out and if I could give you a piece of advice it’s this: be patient with the unfolding of your journey. Where are you rushing towards anyway?
So there we are. These were my 28 lessons, although I’m sure there are way more. My biggest lesson that is not included here is this: stay connected. Be present. When the mind wanders, when the feelings get overwhelming, shift the mind’s perspective to the here and now. There is eternal peace here, infinity lives in the now.
Much love,
Maria