Pieces of Heart

I’m not a religious person. In fact, I’m anti-religious — if that’s a thing. I believe that organized religions create significantly more anguish than they do good. History will back me up on this regard.

However, the concept of religion itself does have its benefits, mainly because it allows people to stay hopeful. It gives meaning to life when people can’t find meaning on their own. It allows them to see the good in the seemingly horrible, especially when it comes to their misfortune.

Throughout our lives, we will all encounter what many will call “blessings in disguise.” Whether you come to accept them as blessings due to your religious beliefs or due to your keen eye and intellect, doesn’t make much of a difference – as long as you do see them as the blessings they are.

They can be tricky to spot at times and even more difficult to accept, but the fact is that some of the worst experiences in our lives are blessings that change our lives for the better. If we can find the strength within to see our misfortunes as opportunities, we can open the door to the possibility of greatness.

Here are nine such common occurrences:

1) The day someone cheated on you and you found out

It’s never a desirable moment when you find out the person you trusted and cared for went and broke that trust. Finding out that the person you have devoted yourself to is unwilling to do the same for you is painful, excruciating even, if you love him or her.

It can be difficult to see the good in such a situation, but as the saying goes, “once a cheater, always a cheater.” It’s better you found out now than wasted another few months or years believing in a lie. You’d be worse off if you didn’t find out.

2) The day you didn’t get the job you thought you always wanted

The universe has a funny way of working. Often, we will find that while we don’t get what we want, we get what we need. Just because you didn’t get hired for what you believed to be your dream job doesn’t mean you failed. In fact, there is certainly another opportunity waiting for you around the corner.

When one door closes, another one opens.

3) The day you got fired

If you got fired from your job, chances are you weren’t doing it very well. If you weren’t doing it very well, then you must not be very good at it. If you’re not very good at it, then you most certainly aren’t passionate enough to learn to do it right.

A lot of times we get stuck in dead-end jobs or jobs that simply aren’t the right fit. It can be difficult to pull yourself away from such a job, especially if it pays well.

When you get fired from a job that you never particularly cared for, however, it calls for some celebration! But not too much… You are unemployed, after all.

4) That time when your best just wasn’t good enough

One of the greatest learning experiences we have is that moment we realize we aren’t doing enough. It’s easy to coast along in life, especially when you are one of those individuals everyone believes to be incredibly talented.

The more talented you are, the less effort you usually put forward. This way of thinking catches up with everybody. Talent can only take you so far. Without hard work, dedication and sacrifice, you will get nowhere in life. This is just the wake-up call you needed.

5) The time you hit rock bottom

Does everyone hit rock bottom? Maybe not. But we all find ourselves laying at the bottom of a deep ditch from time to time with seemingly no way out.

Hitting such lows in life is not an uncommon site. Most of the time, it’s your own fault — whether you choose to accept responsibility is another question. Luckily, you just hit rock bottom, so you have plenty of time to think about why you are where you are and how you can help yourself to climb out.

6) The time your friend stabbed you in the back

Good friends are hard to come by. Sadly, differentiating between good friends and bad ones is often a difficult task; no friend will admit that he or she is a shitty one to have. However, when that friend of yours does stab you in the back or break your trust, look at it as a blessing.

You made a poor judgment call at first, but now you have a chance to fix it and remove that negative influence from your life entirely.

7) That time you had your heart broken into millions of little pieces

I cannot stress how much of a blessing this is. Having your heart broken allows you to feel things you have never felt. It shows you a side of life that not everyone gets to see or experience. It shows you the darkest side of humanity, and in turn, shows you the brightest side.

Having your heart broken is, I believe, what turns a kid into an adult. It is a pivotal moment in your life that, if understood properly, can change your life for the better forever. It did exactly that for me.

8) The day you lost a person you loved

Life is beautiful because it isn’t eternal; it has an ending.

We often think that perfection is everlasting, but that isn’t true. Perfection is objective and that which has no end we see of little value.

Throughout our lives, we will lose many friends and family members. We will see people brought into this world, and we will see people — maybe even those same people — leave it. Losing someone close to you is very difficult to cope with, but it does help you understand how valuable, fragile and beautiful this life is.

Losing a loved one gives you a newfound appreciation for existence itself.

9) That day you almost threw in the towel, almost gave up, almost called it quits

…But you didn’t. That day is the day you broke the sound barrier, ran through that brick wall and became a success.

We all define success a little differently. To me, succeeding is pushing forward, pushing beyond your limits in order to achieve a goal. Success is not giving up when the only thing you can think about is calling it quits. It’s continuing to fight the good fight when your knees can barely support your weight.