Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened. ~ Dr. Seuss
I haven't been able to get this quote out of my head since I stumbled upon it the other night. That and another quote by Dr. Seuss but that's a whole other post that may or may not ever get written... The quote just makes a lot of sense to me like Dr. Seuss always has.
I remember watching my dad leave for work and my siblings leave for school and then sitting down with Green Eggs and Ham, then a few years later being home from school with a cold sitting on the floor in my pajamas and a stack of Dr. Seuss books beside me. I remember the years when my dad was away almost all the time on business in Fort Worth and he would read books to me every night over the phone. We loved biographies and the one we read about Dr. Seuss was my favorite. I remember the summer I played the Sour Kangaroo in Seussical the Musical and it's still the best show I've ever been in.
Over the past few days Dr. Seuss has been popping back into my head again through a conversation that means more to me beyond just the fun of discussing Dr. Seuss simply because of the person I was conversing with, as well as the start of this year's winter rehearsals for Totally Red at Tower Theatre and the cast's conversations always seem to turn back Seussical and everyone agrees yet again that it's the best show they've ever been a part of.
This particular quote is so relevant to me with this year coming to a close (something I have I hard time believing. And yet another fitting Seuss quote) So many things have happened this year a lot of firsts and unusual experiences. Things are so different then they were a year ago. Things are even quite different then they were a week or a few days ago. And as I've been reflecting, as I often do, upon recent events I've realized that while many things that have happened haven't necessarily been good I'm glad they all happened. I'm glad that I made so many stupid mistakes and I'm even glad that people have hurt me not because I enjoy being uncomfortable or sad or angry but because I've learned so much from every experience good and bad. I was talking to a friend today and we were discussing a dramatic little situation I'm dealing with that actually started around a year and a half ago and she was saying she wished that it had never happened to me and that I'd never become involved with this person who has hurt both me and another friend and continues to try and do so. But I don't wish it had never happened because over the past year and a half I've learned so much from this situation that I otherwise never would have. And that even though this situation continues to be difficult I know that everything will turn out alright and I truly believe in God who has a plan for everything and that some good already has come of this and that more will. Everything happens for a reason.
I often find more joy in difficult situations than in the easy ones. I tend find myself sad after the happy things because I'm sad that they are over but happy after the sad things because they are over and I've overcome and learned from them. So I want to challenge myself to enjoy the happy things more and to be glad that they happened and to look forward to more happy and sad experiences to come because that's what makes us alive.
The everyday challenges we experience and how we handle them are what shape us into the people we are, I wouldn't give up a single one of those experiences because then I wouldn't be the same person at all because every experience no matter how small changes you just a little bit forever.
