Embracing Life

When I deny my past, 

I deny my present

and my future.

If I deny my past 

and the pain  

that I have endured,

I deny much of

what shaped me

and molded me

into who I am now. 

If the events of my life 

had gone any differently, 

I may not have the resilience, 

the strength, 

the perspective, 

the determination,

and the gifts that are born

from struggle.

If any one thing was changed, 

all of it would be changed,

and my life would not be the same.

I would not be me.

When I awaken to this, 

I say to life,

thank you, thank you, thank you. 

I am grateful for it all.