30/10/2025
When I was a child, my mother used to say,
“Life doesn’t come all at once. It comes in chapters — each one teaching you something new.”
I didn’t understand what she meant back then.
But now, as the pages have turned, I finally do.
In childhood, life was simple.
The world was no bigger than my street — where laughter echoed from one porch to another, and happiness meant a dripping ice cream cone on a summer day.
I didn’t think about tomorrow. I just lived.
In youth, everything felt like a race — to grow up, to prove, to dream big.
I stumbled, failed, and tried again. I thought mistakes were the end of the world, not realizing they were just the teachers I needed.
Then came adulthood — the season of responsibility.
Careers, bills, families, deadlines.
It was the stage where I learned that love isn’t always grand gestures; sometimes it’s showing up tired, cooking dinner, and saying “I’m home” anyway.
And now, in this quieter stage, I look around and see beauty in things I once overlooked.
The slow mornings. The hum of the kettle. The way the sunlight falls differently each day.
It’s funny — every stage I once wished away, I now wish I could visit again, even for a moment.
But that’s the rhythm of life.
Each season passes, leaving a memory — and if we’re lucky, wisdom.
If childhood taught me joy, youth taught me courage, and adulthood taught me love — then this stage has taught me gratitude.
Because life isn’t about rushing through chapters;
it’s about reading each one slowly enough to feel the words.
So whatever stage you’re in — don’t hurry.
Laugh when you can, rest when you need, and cherish the people who walk beside you.
The story keeps changing, but the love we put into it — that’s what lasts through every chapter.
~ Shared As Received ~
