Experience. Bitch, or angel in disguise?

“Oh life, it's bigger
It's bigger than you
And you are not me
The lengths that I will go to
The distance in your eyes
Oh no, I've said too much
I've said enough……”  REM

C.S. Lewis states that “experience is the most brutal of teachers.” 

Perhaps it the vampire that sucks your lifeblood, leaving you wasted and empty;  or the monster under your bed contriving fitful and sleepless nights.   She’s a true bitch sometimes, but it seems that experience may be the only roadway that leads to authentic bliss. 

We fully love, because we have tragically lost.

We cherish, because times are scarce.
We are courageous, because we ate fear for breakfast. 
We make the call, because we are stifled by loneliness
We lift others, because we ourselves are digging out of the quicksand. 

I’m truly awestruck at the many pathways life’s journeys have lead me on.  I look back with adoration for the people that I’ve loved and those that I’ve learned from.  I bask in the easy, and become stronger with each challenge.   I toil through sickness, and dance in my health.  My heart is broken- yet it keeps on pumping life.

Oh, if only I could learn to relish and appreciate each experience without judgment or regret ...but I fear that won't happen until the journey is over.  And so is life.