TURNING POINTS IN LIFE

How life challenges can be a turning point for you

There I was, sitting in an empty room starring at the blank walls. I was embarrassed, ashamed and scared. I had lost everything I owned and didn’t know what to do next. I said to myself, ‘I must be so weak and naive. I can’t go home to my family and ask for help. How did I let this happen?’

As I sat there, quietly wiping away the constant stream of tears running down my face, I suddenly became still. I could hear my heart pounding inside my chest. Then I heard my inner voice saying, ‘Terry, you will be okay. You are still here and will always be here’. I smiled and became peaceful. At that moment, I realized that the con-artist boyfriend, whom I had become prey to, had taken away everything material, but he could not touch what I had inside me. My soul.

This experience was one of the most challenging trails and the most significant turning points in life. I knew that I could lose it all, but still have the essential thing that will sustain me: myself. No one can take that away without my permission.

When this happened, I was in my twenties. Now, in my fifties, I can look back and see how that experience transformed me. I am no longer fearful of losing everything. I no longer get too attached to the outside world. I know my soul, spirit or whatever you choose to call it, will never leave and ultimately that is what sustains and fulfills me.

What a gift this knowledge has been in my life. It has given me stability in a world that is continually changing. I have experienced many trials, but now see them as turning points in life. I didn’t always see that anything good could come out of it at that time, but eventually, it would turn into a time of reflection, learning, and a change in direction.