Thanks Joel for your input...I'm just not sure about which part your agreeing with.

Agreeing with "personal" stuff for sure!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

.....just don't want to get into political, justice, and hard issues late at night

Actually I understand Joel..you seem to understand that there is a gift within those problems..fair enough.

I think the "gift" Is in finding contentment, to any perplexing situation. In knowing (or at least satisfied to a degree) that your findings (given the situation) are solid enough to give self assurance, if that makes sense.

....reaping lessons out of "even the hardest" of situations.....I suppose along with The Arts, and loving one another....is what we as humans do best

That does make sense Mark..a satisfaction in knowing we were able to rise to the occasion, make the best and move on. Not wallowing in a bad situation..that in itself brings growth, when we are ale to own it,
so to speak.

For me Joel, it usually is the hardest of situations that gives me the best lessons the ones that stick with me, the ones..like I said, that I own. The loving one another is what some humans do best.. not all unfortunately. I guess the other side is those who receive the problem/gift and let it make them bitter, angry and at times close their heart and make it more difficult to love..

It IS..I guess...like a child being mean to their mother...because their mother has created such a safe zone to do so.....

....and when "these children...from great mothers" are in public..they are model citizens.

What an ironic problem/gift THAT is!

hummmm my boys have never been mean to me..one thing for sure is when they were little there were times when they acted like little butt heads both at home and in public...
did I learn from that, yes I did...I never took them out in public anymore.

I'm trying to wrap my mind around mothering and kids as being a giant life lesson, and attempting to see how that fits in with receiving a gift within a problem. If I say that mothering is such, am I saying my boys are a problem/gift I learned from? And if I am..would that make me a bad mom...

as opposed to shallow??

...this feels appropriate.

...every single challenge, adversity, and drop me to my knees crisis, has contributed to who I am today...

...and the gifts are still showing themselves.

How do you counsel an abused child....if you've never been abused... how do you have credibility with homeless youth, unless you've been homeless...an abused wife....a single mum,...an ex addict...

how do you relate...unless you to have walked their talk?

I agree with it, Lori.

That doesn't surprise me at all Jess....

Because ANY problem,,,is also a tried and learned lesson.
And lessons create knowledge,,,thus is a Gift...

The true gifts in life, come to those so giving!!

I think that is true. I cannot think of one problem ice ever had that didn't come with something positive once I was willing to see it.

Glad to see so many understand this. If we were all able to see a problem as a opportunity to learn something, anything..seems the problem would not be so devastating to us. I suppose that is the challenge..to ride through the problem with ease because we know something good will come from it.

Challenging to keep that mind set when it seems your life is falling apart..

I think Bernie Madhoff said it.

ya think? Well maybe

As in intense. It's true.

Love that book!

And I've found if you don't learn the lesson it keeps coming around again till you do.

absolutely (((Kendra))) it does seem we continue to get the lesson if we struggle against the learning part. I also love Richard Bach..I ADORE him. Some of the greatest books and lessons(speaking of lessons) have come from what he has written. I think he is a spiritual genius.

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger".

What confuses you makes you smarter.

If life was easy we wouldn't grow.

If the stars weren't distant we wouldn't reach for them.