ALL THE DAYS OF OUR LIVES
“Sometimes I can hear my bones straining under the weight of all the lives I'm not living.” ―Jonathan Safran Foe
We come into this human existence full of potential. We arrive carrying love, possibility, spiritual gifts and a spark of the Divine within us. Before the world tells us who we should be, there is simply the beautiful essence of who we are. And then life happens.
Are we encouraged or neglected? Cherished or ignored? Are we surrounded by people who see our light, or do we learn to hide it? Do we experience illness, abuse, disappointment, abandonment or loss? Are we pampered, protected, challenged, celebrated or criticized? All these experiences begin shaping the person we believe ourselves to be.
In my own life, many of these things took place. When I look back over the years, it sometimes feels as though I have lived at least five lifetimes within this one timeline between birth and now. There have been so many versions of me. I have started and stopped and started over again. I have tried on new habits, new skillsets, new relationships and new ways of seeing myself. There were times when I thought I had finally figured everything out, only to find myself standing once again at another crossroads. For half my life, I wondered, Who am I really? Perhaps that is one of the most sacred questions we can ever ask.
We spend so much of our lives becoming what others need us to be. We become the responsible one, the caretaker, the survivor, the achiever, the peacemaker, the spouse, the parent, the employee, the friend. These identities are not necessarily wrong. They are simply pieces of us. But somewhere underneath all those labels is the soul whispering, “There is more to life than what you see.”
I understand Jonathan Safran Foer's words about feeling the weight of the lives we are not living. How many dreams have we put aside because we thought it was too late? How many doors have we refused to open because we were afraid of what might be on the other side? How many times have we felt the stirring of our soul and answered, “Maybe someday”? Someday is a dangerous word when it becomes a hiding place.
There came a point in my life when I realized that I did not have to keep returning to the person I had always been. Starting over did not mean I had failed. Sometimes starting over meant that I had finally listened. Every version of me had something to teach the next one.
The frightened me taught me courage.
The sick me taught me to value life.
The searching me taught me to keep asking questions.
The brokenhearted me taught me compassion.
The wandering me taught me that sometimes getting lost is how we discover where we truly belong.
And the spiritual seeker in me eventually learned that perhaps I had never been as lost as I thought I was.
God was there. The angels were there. Love was there. Even when I could not see the path, I was still walking it. Maybe we are not supposed to live every possible life that calls to us. Perhaps some possibilities simply appear to awaken something inside us. But I do believe there comes a time when the soul grows tired of watching life from the sidelines. It begins nudging us toward the dream, the calling, the adventure, the relationship, the creative expression or the act of service that makes us feel truly alive.
As long as there is breath in our bodies, there is another blank page waiting.
You are allowed to change your mind.
You are allowed to reinvent yourself.
You are allowed to leave behind beliefs that no longer fit.
You are allowed to discover gifts you never knew you possessed.
You are allowed to dream a dream today that never occurred to you yesterday.
And you are allowed to become someone your younger self could never have imagined.
Perhaps the goal is not to mourn all the lives we did not live. Perhaps it is to become fully present in the one life that is still unfolding before us.
Dear Angels, how do we release the weight of all the lives we could have lived and embrace the life that is calling us now?
Dear Ones, you have never been asked to live every possible version of yourself. You have only been asked to be present for the unfolding of the beautiful soul that you are. Do not look upon your past selves with regret. Bless them. Each one carried you as far as they knew how to go. Each experience gave you wisdom, strength, compassion and understanding that you carry with you today. There are doors before you that could not have opened earlier because you were not yet ready to walk through them.
Do not grieve the timing. Your life is not behind you. Your purpose has not expired. The Divine does not look at your age, your mistakes or the roads you did not take and declare that your opportunity has passed. Spirit sees possibility where the human mind sees limitation. Listen now to what makes your heart expand. Follow what brings you alive. Release the need to know exactly where the path will lead. You need only enough light for the next step. There are still experiences waiting to meet you, people waiting to love you, places waiting for your footsteps, words waiting to be spoken and gifts within you waiting to be shared.
You are not carrying the weight of unlived lives. You are carrying possibility. Set it free.
Angels Whisper: You have not missed your life, Dear One. You are standing in it. Bless who you have been, love who you are, and open your heart to who you are still becoming. There is more life to live, more love to give and more of your beautiful light yet to shine.
Today, I promise to fully live all the days of my lives.
Teri Angel is a Joy Guide, Happiness Coach, energy healer, best-selling author, spiritual teacher, mentor, and inspirational speaker devoted to awakening peace within the human heart. As an International Peace Ambassador and founder of the nonprofit Angelspeakers Inc., Teri creates transformative workshops, sacred gatherings, and global initiatives that honor environmental stewardship, animal advocacy, peace consciousness, and the integration of ancient wisdom teachings into modern life.
Through her worldwide movement, Peas For Peace, Teri invites humanity to remember our divine interconnectedness—strengthening awareness of our oneness and inspiring unity through compassion, love, joy, and intentional action. During the Peace On Earth Tour, she was honored with the sacred name “She Who Blesses the Sacred Land,” a title she carries with humility and heartfelt grace as she continues blessing lands and waters around the world.
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To donate to the Peace On Earth Tour, click this link: Donate
To book a private session with Teri, visit https://angelspeakers.com
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