Why You’re Not Being Punished—Even If It Feels That Way

How challenge expands your capacity, deepens your compassion, and calls you into a softer, stronger version of yourself

There are moments in life when it feels like everything is falling apart.
Like you're doing everything right, showing up for your healing, staying grounded, doing the inner work—and still, things unravel. Hard things happen. People hurt you. Life throws curveballs that knock the wind out of you.

And in those moments, it’s easy to ask:
Why me?
What did I do to deserve this?
Is the universe punishing me?

I’ve been there. And I want to tell you something I had to learn the hard way:

You are not being punished.
You are being reshaped.

When Everything Cracks Open

Several years ago, I poured my heart into building a gym with my closest friends—nearly four years of dreaming, planning, growing, and giving everything I had. I believed in what we were doing with every part of me.

And then it fell apart.
Not just the business—the relationships.
I experienced a kind of betrayal I never thought was possible. The kind that leaves you questioning everything, including yourself.

And just when I thought I was regaining my footing, a few months later, my house burned down. I lost everything—every physical belonging, every safe and familiar piece of my life. Gone in an instant.

That year stripped me down to nothing.
But looking back now, I can tell you with complete honesty: it also built me back into something more true, more grounded, more me.

This Isn’t Punishment—It’s a Breaking Open

The universe isn’t punishing you.
It’s calling you into a new way of being.
One that holds more softness, more strength, more surrender.

When everything around you breaks apart, you find out what’s really inside you.
You learn how to pivot.
You learn how to grieve.
You learn how to let go.
You learn how to feel fully—and still keep moving.

You don’t become harder—you become wiser.
You don’t numb out—you become more compassionate.
You don’t shut down—you find new ways to open.

I used to think resilience was about toughness. Now I know it’s about tenderness.
It’s about letting life shape you without letting it harden you.

Your Capacity Is Expanding

Every time you survive something you didn’t think you could, your capacity grows.
To hold more peace.
To feel deeper love.
To support others from lived experience, not just theory.
To meet yourself exactly where you are, and still believe in where you're going.

Even when it doesn’t make sense yet.
Even when it hurts.

Healing Isn’t Always Pretty—But It’s Powerful

We talk about healing like it’s all crystals and calm, but sometimes it’s smoke and ash. Sometimes it’s betrayal and heartbreak. Sometimes it’s watching the life you built fall apart in front of you, and having no choice but to start again.

And that’s still healing.

Because healing isn’t what you do when everything is okay.
It’s what you do in the middle of the mess.
It’s how you keep showing up—for your breath, for your body, for your truth.

The most important thing you can do in those moments is pour back into yourself.
That’s not selfish. That’s survival.
It’s sacred. It’s necessary. It’s the foundation for whatever you rebuild next.

It Gets Easier—But Not Because Life Stops Being Hard

It gets easier because you get stronger.
You trust yourself more.
You know how to come back to center faster.
You know what’s real. You know who’s real.
You don’t take peace for granted, because you know what it costs to get there.

I wouldn’t wish the losses I’ve experienced on anyone—but I wouldn’t trade who I’ve become because of them.

So if you’re in the thick of it right now—heartbroken, exhausted, asking why—it’s okay to feel it all. You don’t need to rush the meaning. You don’t need to find the lesson right away.

Just take care of yourself.
Let the people who love you show up for you.
Be gentle with your body.
Speak kindly to yourself.
And keep going.

You’re not being punished.
You’re being called.
To soften.
To grow.
To rebuild.
To become.

And I promise—what you’re building next will be even more beautiful, because you’ll be bringing your whole self with you this time.

Peace & power to you
💜 Liz