Falling in Love with Life: The Real Lesson

Living with a chronic illness for almost ten years has given me a vantage point I never expected — one I probably wouldn’t have reached until much later in life, if at all. The lessons came early, unplanned, and sometimes painfully, but they’re here now, shaping me in ways I’m grateful for.

You can read more about my story here and my lessons here.

Fall in love with life

It sounds simple, maybe even too simple, but this one learning has carried me through some of my hardest moments:

Fall in love with life.

Being alive is a gift. Feeling alive is how we honour that gift.

And on some days, that feeling isn’t loud or dramatic — it’s gentle, almost quiet.

A sip of chai.

The smell of rain.

A cuddle with a loved one, or a furry pet.

It’s easy to feel this way when life is smooth. But the real question is: Can we stay open-hearted when things fall apart? Can we still trust that it will be okay? Can we believe that what we’re facing might, in some way, be here to teach us? Or maybe even reward us with a surprise?

I’ve learnt that we don’t have to run from our pain to find peace. We can sit with it, breathe with it, and slowly create a little space between what’s happening and who we are. In that tiny space, life softens.

One moment that stayed with me was something Rupert Spira wrote in You Are the Happiness You Seek. He recalled taking his son to a football match and asking him which team he supported. His son replied, without hesitation: “The one that scores more goals.”

That answer made me smile. That kind of openness — that willingness to just watch and enjoy without deciding too early what things should be — is something I’m learning to practice. To stop gripping life so tightly. To let it unfold.

There are hundreds of books about the power of the present moment, but honestly, the simplest reminders work best.

The way sunlight filters through leaves.

A song that lifts us.

The joy of our favourite meal.

And little by little, we find ourselves not complaining anymore. And little by little, we begin to love who we are being. The gentle comfort of being exactly who we are, in this moment, without needing to fix or change anything.

Can we fall in love with all of that?

Yes. We can.

Even on hard days. Especially on hard days.

So to you, my friends, I’ll say this —

Fall in love with life. And somehow, in the most unexpected ways, life will fall in love with you too.