Allowed to fail and discover

"Television commercials give such a strange view of what life is supposed to be. And a lot of people buy it. Life is not easy and comfortable, with nothing ever going wrong as long as you buy the right product. It's not true that if you have the right insurance everything is going to be fine. That's not what it's really like. Terrible things happen. And those are the things that we learn from. People are incredibly complex. I read a book last winter called Owning Your Own Shadow, by Robert Johnson. And one of his theories is that the brighter the light, the darker the shadow. Which is often true."  Madeleine L'Engle, quoted in Creativity, by Mihaly Csikszentmahili.

I would think a lot of people can resonate with this and find internal meaning. Today's days are tough. We fail and make mistakes. A lot of bad things happen in our lives that may result in pain, regret, worry, sorrow, tears, fear and loneliness.

However, it's by working through these emotions and situations that we are able to grow and shine. There is a light, a hope worth living for. The endeavors are difficult, but ultimately joyful. Through trial and persecution, suffering and loneliness, we find foundational meaning and reason for breathing. A rock to stand on and truth to feed broken souls.

L'Engle said, "Human beings are the only creatures who are allowed to fail. If an ant fails, it's dead. But we're allowed to learn from our mistakes and from our failures."