Day 286 (Two-Hundred & Eighty-Six) of 365 days

I'm writing this to encourage others to don’t lose hope and just to have them feel that their trials and issues are acknowledged. I don’t know. It might not do anyone any good. But I decided to write it because it is what I truly believe, and it comes from my heart.

We all go through seasons in our life, seasons of joy and seasons of sadness and trials. It is in those seasons that we learn a lot about ourselves that we never perhaps even knew before. Sure, those seasons suck, but those that make it out of their hardships come out stronger, and I believe they have a more firmly rooted identity. And no one can tell you who you are or what you went through because, guess what, you were the one that walked through the fire, not them. And you know it. But it can get pretty annoying sometimes hearing the phrase You’ll come out stronger when all you’re focusing on is just getting through each day without falling apart and letting everything go to pots. Sure, you may come out stronger, but you’re not at that place yet, and, frankly, you’re just learning how to survive.

I think when people go through extremely rough times in life, what they need is not someone who will explain their situation for them and tell them how to solve it. After all, if you who are in it don’t know how to solve your problems, how much less will they? No, what people need in rough times is someone who will stand by them and listen to them. And that could be all they do. Just listen. But listening is, I think, one of the most powerful ways to make someone feel better, even if their circumstances don’t immediately change.

It is impossible to run away from the problems, as someway or the other they will be in your life once again. So, you have to cling to hope for happiness and success. Hope seems like a small thing, but it is the only thing that can keep you focused. When you are facing a difficult time, it is easy to lose all your optimism and think that life has nothing better to offer. However, in times like this hope helps you to move forward. Problems are a part of life, as without pain there is no real happiness. In such situation, if you lose hope then you can never get out of the trouble and live your life to the fullest. So, hope is the little miracle worker that holds your life together.

You see, the only way to overcome these storms is to rise above them. To gather the courage and will to stand up, to face our fears. To turn our collar up against the cold and lean into the wind. There is no running away from them, we just have to accept our situation with the belief that better days are ahead of us. Life may not always be the party we hope it would be, but it is beautiful nonetheless. And it can turn out like how we’ve always imagined it to be in our dreams, we’ve just got to keep the faith and continue moving forward. It may be hard, I know it’s hard. No, it’s not just hard, it’s extremely hard and giving up seems like the only way. I know, I’ve been there.

But think of life as a white piece of paper that’s divided into individual portions for each chapter of our lives, that these portions are just waiting for us to colour them with our adventures, our journeys and our experiences, both the good and the bad. The different colours represent the various happenings, our feelings and the emotions we experience. Though they may not be always pretty, but like an art piece, it can’t be painted with just one colour. Just like the rainbow that comes after the storm, the several colours that form it is what makes it alluring.

So go out and live your life, dance through the storms, embrace whatever happens and lies ahead. Follow the winds of change, don’t resist them. Let them guide you to where you’re meant to be. And even if it may not be where you want to be, trust them. Keep that perpetual glow in your eyes and that bright smile on your face. And someday, near the end of the road when you stop to reflect on how far you’ve come in this life, you’ll be able to stand back and admire this beautiful piece of art that your journeys have coloured each step of the way, knowing you indeed had an amazing life. I'm rooting for you!