I’ve always heard that ‘The One’ is a special person with whom we fall madly in love and live happily ever after.

It’s a beautiful idea for sure, but it’s also a very limiting idea and ends up feeling like a whole lot of pressure.

I mean, what if we think we’ve met ‘The One‘, but years later they no longer feel like ‘The One’?

Or what if we haven’t met ‘The One’ yet and they’re nowhere in sight? What then?

More importantly, what does ‘The One’ even mean?

I subscribe to the idea that life is a series of learning experiences all geared to teach us how to grow into more loving people. ‘The One’ is just a special person who has something that our soul needs to learn in order keep growing, and their soul has something to learn from us as well.

Sometimes a relationship with ‘The One’ may last for many years or even a lifetime, but it can also last a few months, or even a few hours.

The point is that not every romantic partner is meant to be our partner forever. ‘The One’ is just ‘The One’ for as long as both parties are still growing.

A relationship is not a failure simply because it didn’t last a certain amount of time. The only failure is if you don’t learn what you need to learn from that relationship.

The beauty of failure is that it’s just a steppingstone to success. By missing an important lesson in one relationship, you’ll be that much more available to learn it in the next. We have a lot to learn in a lifetime, and we have to give ourselves some grace along the way.

Life is not meant to be boxed up and topped with a perfect little bow; it’s an ongoing journey of self-discovery.

It’s imperfect and uncertain, and the only real requirement is that you allow it to unfold in whatever way necessary for us to become the best, happiest, most loving people that we can be.

Have a beautiful week!

~ John and Jami

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Apprentice Editor: Karissa Kneeland / Editor: Renée Picard

Photo: Graeme Petrie Photography