Finding Ourselves

Not too long ago I read an article by a young woman who was reflecting on her life as, at first, a model teenage person with loving and supportive parents. Then, she started seeing a boy of whom her parents did not approve. Out of anger and a great sense of unfairness, the girl turned from model daughter to monster, at least when it came to her parents. Things for her went from bad to worse regarding both her parents and this boy. Eventually, the rebellious girl turned things around and began getting a much better handle on the life. And things between her and her parents improved as well.

This article got me to thinking of the many roads all of us travel in our lives. It is no accident, I believe, that upon taking our first steps in life we end up falling down again and again. Eventually, we learn to walk by holding onto things and then, finally, we stand on our own. At that point, we have come to some sort of agreement with who we are. We may not always like everything about ourselves, but the feelings of acceptance are enough to get us through the rest of our lives. As it is with babies, the young woman in the article I read fell down a lot upon taking her first steps into adulthood. I can sure relate to that fact of life.

It is too bad that during those times when people are floundering they are not always to communicate exactly that. Granted, it is not easy because you may not quite understand exactly what is going on with you. Still, communicating even that is better than nothing. After all, there are few things that trigger more confusion than not opening up with others about the confusion you might be experiencing. Confessing to being in a state of confusion is better than not saying anything at all. My point here is communication can be one's best friend when everything around you seems to not be going well. In fact, it can even be the door for which you have been searching.