Ask Me What I Think About Valentine’s Day

This post may be a bit off topic, but hey…It’s almost Valentine’s Day.   And really, it’s not all that off topic.  Having strong, comfortable, trusting, and honest relationships is important to a person’s wellbeing.  Maybe not necessarily physical health, but possibly emotional health can be affected when you’re struggling with any unstable relationship, not just with a significant other.

But did you ever wonder, you know, if maybe sometimes, people come into our lives for a reason?  I say Valentine’s Day is more than just a day for love birds to celebrate.  It’s a day for everyone to celebrate all of their valued relationships they have been blessed with, or still are fortunate enough to have.

There was a great post written on one of the blogs that I follow.  The author talked about Valentine’s Day and she mentioned her take on a “soul mate.”  She believes that soul mates are our teachers, so “they can be anyone we come in contact with, even for a brief time.”

Her idea really struck me because over the past few months, one great life lesson I have been pondering over and appreciating Is the fact that sometimes people come into your life, even if it’s just for a couple of months, and then when they leave, they leave a lasting impression.  Your experiences in life shape who you are, and that includes your experiences with other people.   You never really grow to be anyone specifically because there will always be new experiences in your life to grasp wisdom from.

I can think of many people who were only in my life for a short time and I was sad to see them go.  I think about them often, but I know why they were there, and I know what I learned from them.  Haven’t you ever had someone come in to your life that has made a difference, a friend, a roommate, maybe a coworker?

There was this girl my freshman year of college.  She was so sweet, and me…well I was a freshman, we’ll leave it at that.  What I remember the most about her was how genuine she was.  She was the type of person who was so kind to everyone you would honestly want to beat somebody up for being rude to her.  She was so true to herself and everyone around her.  That’s what I learned from her, to be true to myself because I owed myself that much. She taught me to be kind to others.  Treat others as you wish to be treated.

Another girl, who recently graduated, went through aerobics training with me.  She was a bit older than me, though she’d tell you she was ancient, but she was the type of guidance I needed at the time, she was a cherished friend.  She and I had shared a lot of the same experiences in life to trade off on.  We both had a lot in common in a sense that we both have big dreams, high ambitions and mostly the same views on life.  We both agreed we were in each other’s lives for a reason. We helped each other get through more than just an aerobics class.

Another one probably has no idea he has made any impact on my life, if you asked, he would tell you I don’t listen to any of his advice, and he’d also tell you he’s ancient.  He’s my realist friend. Sets me straight when I need to be, and is brutally blunt now and then when necessary, but it’s an unspoken understanding that, well, he’s only harsh because he cares.  He has become a valued friend.

I met a boy last fall semester in a religion class, who also happened to work at most favorite coffee shop.  He’s incredibly kind-hearted, and probably never caused any harm.  So I decided to befriend him of course.   He taught me a lot about faith over the past year, a lesson you can never take for granted.

Sometimes people that come in and out of your life, leave you with a bad experience.  Sometimes people hurt you.  I believe in taking the bad with the good.  You learn from those experiences as well.  You never hate anybody and you never hold grudges.  You take what they offered you and you let go.

So this Valentine’s Day let’s make it about celebrating what wisdom we have been taught by our teachers, our soul mates.  Try reflecting on past experiences, contacting old friends, or letting go of a long-gone past.

What have you learned from the people who come in and out of your life?