A NOTE:

Personally, I prefer to believe
that every experience
carries the possibility
of creating or catalyzing
change in our lives, positively.

Even lessons
can be blessings,
if we let them—you see?

But I digress—
because the prompt for this poem
didn’t ask me about my life philosophy—it asked: what are some experiences
that have impacted your life positively?

It was difficult, but I narrowed it down to three…

ONE:
The day my daughter was born,
I began to know love truly.
That’s not to say that I was ever
unloved—but at eighteen, the love of
my parents sometimes seemed as if
it came with conditions.

But real love never comes
with conditions—and I was
beginning to understand
what unconditional love
truly meant.

When her Hazel eyes met mine, for
the first time, I knew, I felt it:
I am alive, and I am loved,
and I am loving,
and I am love.

She made me realize
that no matter what happens in life—
love is always enough.

TWO:
The day my son was born,
I began learning how to love myself.
I’d come face to face with my
then-perceived failures and flaws—
and began to forgive me—
the day my son was born.

His bright son-light brought
to me an awareness of
my own beauty—both inside
and out. He brought new meaning
to my life—reminded me of
the joy found in the journey
—and love.

Through his eyes, I had a Chance
to see myself as I truly am:
sacred, divine, and beyond
deserving of the love I give
to everyone else.

He helped me change
how I see myself.

THREE:
The day I married my husband,
it felt like the first day of the rest of my life.
After all the angst and hurt
and heartbreak of adolescence
and my early adulthood—I told myself,
I’d never want to be a wife. I thought
it’d be preferable to protect my heart
with walls of steel—but he saw me
though my pretend-hardness,
showed me a love that is true and real.

Love—as romanticized in film—
should feel always like sunshine
and rainbows, no? But that’s not
the way it always goes…

Real love gives you
a reason to remember
who you truly are—even when
you feel so far from yourself.

True love is like holding up
a mirror. We must
make peace with the hurt person
inside of ourselves—we heal,
so we don’t hurt each other.

We adventure on journeys
through the self,
alongside one another.

And when we align
our hopes and desires
with the power of our love—
truly majestic experiences transpire.

EPILOGUE:
I suppose I could sum all this up
by saying that the best thing
that’s ever happened for me is love—
but I don’t believe that simple description
is truly distinctive enough.

My daughter taught me to love others
and to let love in; my son taught me
to love myself and find my joy again;
my husband taught me to trust, and to see
that every ideal interaction starts with inner peace.