When I was growing up I had the fortune to spend lots of time with my grandma. This woman, despite her disability (unable to walk), she taught me so many valuable lessons and nourished my spirit and curiosity for learning with her stories and parables. She has been a pillar of strength, support and inspiration for me. More than anyone in my life.
I remember one of her stories which I loved hearing over and over: it was about an oyster in the bottom of the sea which one day got a hard piece of coral stuck inside it’s shell. In order to soothe the pain and feel better about this, the pearl started working hard to excrete a membrane to cover the foreign object that was wounding it. The end result was to produce a magnificent pearl that was priceless.
In life often, circumstances that cause us pain and discomfort can result in something beautiful and amazing.
When we go through challenges and faced with issues we often cannot see any good outcome out of it, however, many times the result is something positive. We may develop resilience in the face of adversity and develop skills that otherwise we wouldn’t.
In the context of mental health, I often wonder how my life would have been without my depression and anxiety. Would I have developed the mindfulness and awareness to the level I have if I didn’t go through the suffering? Who knows?
One thing is for sure: due to my harsh experiences I have been forced to reach out and seek help, pushed myself outside of my comfort zone and made friends and developed supports which have made me stronger and eager to succeed my goals despite the obstacles. The ‘pearl’ develops out of adversity, grandma would say. And looking back at my life I can testify she was right.
How do you view your experience of struggle and hardship in life? Is there something good that has come out of it? Has your experience shaped you towards a recovery mindset? Where would you be without it?
