Everything happens for a reason. Every person we meet, will have a role in our lives, be it big or small, sooner or later. Some will hurt, betray, and make us cry to become stronger. Some will teach us lessons, not to change us but for us to realize our mistakes, and to help us grow, and make us a better person. And some would simply inspire and love, to make us happy.

When there are some disagreements, we should not allow bitterness and resentment to fester inside us otherwise it will make our relationships guarded and unsatisfying.

By letting go of distress, resentment and negativity, we can keep our nature open and loving. Accepting others unconditionally allows them to remove their masks and feel at ease with who they are. The security of being accepted gives them the freedom to be themselves and then lets them easily know and accept themselves too.

We could learn a lot from crayons: some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, some have weird names, and all are different colors....but they all exist very nicely in the same box.

The hedgehogs in the following narrative learn to accept and live with their imperfections in order to survive. And so with us humans. Through every trial and moment of pain, we could stand together to help one another and continue that selfless act of love and pass on the comfort.

It was the coldest winter ever. Many animals died because of the cold. The hedgehogs, realizing the situation, decided to group together to keep warm. This way they covered and protected themselves; but the quills of each one wounded their closest companions.

 After awhile, they decided to distance themselves one from the other and they began to die, alone and frozen. So they had to make a choice: either accept the quills of their companions or disappear from the Earth.

Wisely, they decided to go back to being together. They learned to live with the little wounds caused by the close relationship with their companions in order to receive the heat that came from the others. This way they were able to survive.
The best relationship is not the one that brings together perfect people, but when each individual learns to live with the imperfections of others and can admire the other person's good qualities.

Life is sometimes difficult. We all have some kind of stress and we all need someone in our lives that we can lean on. We should never think that we cannot talk to someone because they have problems too; that our friend or loved one would be better off without us or our problems. We will soon find out that they need us just as much as we need them.

By Tim Pedrosa

God doesn’t give you the people you want, he gives you the people you need, to help you , to hurt you, to leave you, to love you and to make you the person you were meant  to be.