I used to think  the hardest parts of life were puzzle pieces in some sort of grand, ethereal scheme to test my human mettle. But I don’t anymore. And often I wondered if I was being tested. But I don’t anymore.

I also used to attribute these tests to God, but I don’t anymore. As a parent, the idea of testing my children with extreme and heartbreaking circumstances as a way of measuring their Life Proficiency Level now just seems cruel. And like the opposite of love.

Now instead, I just see it as life. It’s all life. The good things happening are life. The bad things happening are life. Life is happening daily and you just keep rolling with it. And sometimes you’re gonna ride the waves like a champ and other times you’re gonna crash and burn. But you’re never passing and failing. You’re just living. You’re just navigating. You’re growing. You’re learning. You’re evolving. You’re  changing. You’re opening your heart and expanding your mind and your capacity to process life from all different angles.

And if you’re brave enough to wake up and do it all over again tomorrow, you’re doing just fine. And there’s no test that could ever measure that.