One belief I had to outgrow was thinking that being “the strong one” meant carrying everything alone.

As life humbled me, I realized real strength is learning when to release what’s breaking you and embrace what’s actually healing you. I used to believe endurance was about surviving storms in silence, but now I see it’s about choosing peace even when chaos feels familiar.

It is that shift in which changed how I move in relationships, how I work, and how I show up in a society that often mistakes emotional suppression for maturity. Because I do personal reflection journaling almost every day, I'm always coming up with my own quotes based on whatever life lesson I'm wrestling with at the moment.

It’s just how my mind works...I process things by turning them into something meaningful, something I can look back on later. Back in High School, I wrote one that stuck with me so deeply I still have it pinned on my wall with all my other little reminders and inspirations. It still feels true to who I am today.

“Strength isn’t proven by how much weight you hold; it's revealed by what you finally allow yourself to put down.”

I once completely believed in the Christian God and the Holy Trinity and all of that. I believed that going to church and having Bible study and such would make me a better person. Then in 2010, my wife at the time was pregnant with what was to be our second child. I got a call on August 1sr of that month from her while I was at work, that she had been rushed to the hospital, that something was wrong. By the time I got there, our son had passed. She had been eight months pregnant, and her doctor could find no conclusive reason as to why he died. I stayed at the hospital for what seemed like an eternity until she told me to go home and get some sleep. I went home and proceeded to get drunk instead. It was in the midst of my drunkenness that I cursed my Christian God. If Christ died for our sins, why would he take an unborn child from me? My son never even had the chance to sin. I went through the next three years extremely angry at God, but I did decide to quit drinking. Over the next thirteen years, I explored many different religions, but more importantly, spirituality. I've gone through two marriages since then, but I have realized that it wasn't God that made them fail, nor was it God who took my child. It's just the way of the universe. Somethings are unexplainable, and possibly for the better. I see myself as a better person now for embracing the vibes of the universe and trying to understand them. I have learned to accept things as they are, and to seek out love and to give that same love to everyone. Peace to you as well, my brother.

I was taught that sex before marriage was 'dirty and sinful'. Contrary to that teaching, sex before marriage allows people to compare and understand their potrntial partners' desires and behaviors in comparison to your own.

I used to be very religious, very conservative in doubting my parents beliefs. Couldnt think abt maybe I am wrong in believing such stuff and all. But as I got older I realised I deprived my heart from so much joy that I still feel guilty if I am happy... yep. Thats for me

I know this will probably be controversial, but belief in God or any Gods. The older I get the more I look back at my blind faith and think, "What The Fuck?"

that all parents loved there kids

We’re all children of The Enlightenment, which means that we should be looking for strong evidence before committing to a belief. Not magical claims and anecdotal statements.

Evidence meaning detectable, measurable, and repeatability testable. Along with falsification.