Wow, Rob - way to go! You sound like you're in such a strong place right now. That's so great! It gives me a real sense of hope that someday I too will achieve the level of calm and composure that you're demonstrating. Thanks for the inspiration.
Thank you Lemonsnap, your words are very encouraging, it's nice to get positive feedback.
Just remember, it wasn't an overnight transformation, I took a fair amount of lumps along the way to feel the way I do right now, personally 2008 was the hardest, most painful and probably also the best year of my life. It's the most amount of growth I've ever experienced in my whole life and it's funny to say it but it required this kind of stimulus to jolt me into this growth and becoming this way.
If you allow yourself to experience this growth and don't remain guarded (ie. attacking first before someone attacks you), continue to wear your heart on your sleeve but allowing yourself to experience a great life in the face of adversity, you too will experience the kind of individual growth that you never knew you were capable of. If a few years ago I could peek into the future and look at me now, I'm sure I would have thought it was impossible to be the kind of person I am today and that should tell you that the potential inside of you to become something much greater exists in all of us, it's waiting to be accessed and used.
It's like going to the gym and working your muscles, they're only going to grow and get bigger if they get pushed hard enough and are forced to adapt to conditions that never previously presented themselves.
You can wallow in self-pity all of your life (I've done that for a fair bit of my life) or you can recognize that you have the gift of life, make use of it and live a great one. The side effects are that you will become an amazingly strong, attractive and energetic person - someone you never knew could exist.
Here's another thought, if I'm this way right now after all of this has happened to me, what happens if I continue to press forward, continue to improve and continue to make use of my untapped potential? I never thought I could be this way several years ago, who knows what I could be like a few years from now if I continue improving?
It's kind of exciting when you think about it.
You are more than capable of it too, the only thing you have to do is believe in yourself and just do it. ;-)
