“The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.” ~ Ernest Hemingway

I’ve traveled through many spheres. Some have been simple fleeting moments spent in one place, one situation, or in one frame of thought. Nevertheless, they are all part of my dynamic, my gestalt. Combined, they are the collaborated experiences that makes me who I am, that forms how I think, act and react to life.

Our experiences are our life. They form the person we become and the life that we live. So, we travel through the sphere of life lessons, of formless forms, intangible thoughts and deep feelings. It is a sphere that we rarely want to see, yet, this is the sphere we all dwell in. This is accepting life. This is accepting ourselves, flaws and all.

Exactly a year ago today, I arrived here, where I currently live. I arrived here not by chance, not by choice alone, but by circumstance. I did not have to come here. I did not truly want to leave where I was before, but I came in accord with my own intuition. Ultimately, I knew I was meant to leave. For, where I was was not a good place for me.

Reluctantly, in acceptance of my own decision, I arrived here. I arrived broken and beaten, as I had many times before. Beaten by my own disregard for instinct. Broken by my own weight of haphazard decisions. I arrived in both physical and mental pain. But I would be healed within the week.

That week, one year ago today I began to unlock my inner passions once again. I took rest and refuge. I picked up the pen once again, and the brush. My heart spoke softly to me. It whispered at first, then became more resounding as I began to listen and finally hear it.

My heart spoke to me then just as it speaks to me now. It tells me to keep going, to never give up, to always pursue my ultimate dream, my calling and passion, my reason for being. And in the past year I’ve learned that living without pursuit of these fruits would be a fruitless life indeed.

My heart warned me against taking shortcuts, against muting my own inner voice and against placing my feet where they do not belong. No matter the temptation, no matter the lure and no matter how much simpler it might seem on the fast road, dreams are not realized on the easy path.

We must all face our own faults at times. We must all look in the mirror and say, yes, I was wrong and yes it was my fault. We must all live through these experiences in order to grow and to learn, to become better, stronger and wiser. The lessons I learned are my own to keep, as are yours. But we all must acknowledge them, look them in the face, learn, and move forward.

We are all beautiful and broken in some form. And, this sphere is one that we cannot escape. It is one that is never vanquished. If it is not acknowledged, it will grow until it can no longer be ignored.

This sphere is you. It is your reflection. It is you, flawed and beautiful. It is cracked, broken, mended and shouting beyond heaven to be heard, to be witnessed and to be touched.

Know this sphere, and know thyself.