I'm Unique...just like everyone else

I'm unique...just like everyone else
I often allow myself to fall into the trap of thinking that there is nobody else on Earth that has ever gone through the trials and tribulations that I have endured in the past and continue to endure today. Surely no one has ever shouldered such burdens.

Not only do I NOT believe that there is anything particularly unique about my problems, I also don't believe that there is anything unique about my combination of problems.The Bible says, "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun" Ecclesiastes 1:9.What does this passage mean to me? It means that there isn't a single hardship, fear, insecurity, pain or conflict that I have experienced that hasn't been experienced by countless individuals before me.

I have been known to throw myself some grand pity parties because I have felt alone in a particular emotional experience. The reality of the situation is that there isn't anything unique about my upbringing, my life or my vocation so why should I expect my thorns in the flesh to be so? I think this verse also tells me to man up, cowboy up, suck it up (insert your cliché of choice) and trudge on.

I believe that one of the most dangerous things that an individual can have is a justifiable resentment. It can be poisonous when you wield that sword and are fully expected to be bitter and jaded and ugly just because you are justified in it. I, however, nurture my own resentment when I should smother it. I cradle it when I should kill it. I am aware of its intoxicating effects but I welcome it with open arms nonetheless.

I am also perplexed today about my inability to let certain things go. At a time in my life when I should be marching full steam ahead, chest out, chin up, I find myself clinging to things that hinder my stride. I voluntary place a tack in my own shoe. I allow myself to be tethered to the past just enough to cause me to stumble into the future.