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learn your own lessons.

the person you love the most: they’re not like you? good. why would you want them to suffer as you do? everyone is not the same, and for good reason. anytime you want someone to be more like you, ask yourself, “would i want this person to have the same problems as me? to worry as i do?” if not, then no. let them be who they are, with the problems they chose, and a stranger to each of yours. while we are intimately familiar with our own miseries, we must not wish them upon others.

think of the acquaintances, neighbors and colleagues that have become your best friends because you share a common enemy. it’s amazing. you found one another. now what? there’s two of you with the same problem; even more pressure to solve it. no more excuses! what you’ll find is that everyone has a different level of tolerance for their problems and the problems of others.

remember that God is not trying to show you everything that is wrong with the world; he’s trying to show you to yourself.

you’ll be happier when you allow your own pace and progress to humble and soften you, as it’s meant to, not withholding God’s own compassion for yourself and others. if the universe wanted you different, they would have sent you down to bless the earth as angels and not as mere mortals attempting grace. shape your clay as best you can.