Difficult Circumstances

“The best way out is always through.” Robert Frost

Wow. If I read this quote a couple of months ago, this post would be about how much I disagreed. However, I have to say that there is so much truth to what he is saying about difficult circumstances. When we think about our pasts, we realize how much we have learned through each difficult circumstance, mistake, or even failure. We learn that although we’re human, we are becoming stronger. Sometimes, we realize that as much as we would maybe like to erase some of those mistakes, we see that we don’t repeat the same ones.

Everyone has a story. We’re not alone in our sufferings . . . that in itself brings many of us such peace. So, take heart and have hope. There’s always someone else who has it worse than you. There’s always someone who went through exactly what you are facing right now. There is someone who understands your difficulties and mixed emotions. If you haven’t found that “someone else,” maybe it’s time to lay down our pride. We cannot do life by ourselves, and we have to stop pretending that we have it together 100% of the time. Nothing and no one is perfect. We reduce our internal stress when we share our burdens with one another . . . sometimes it is a licensed counselor. We weren’t designed to carry our burdens all by ourselves. If we did, we’d all live in such isolation that we’d never have any relationships . . . that’s kind of a bummer.

Back to the quote. When we find ourselves facing difficult circumstances, we are so UNCOMFORTABLE. We want everything to be resolved right now, or yesterday. But, life doesn’t work that way. We have gotten too caught up in movies and television shows that try to convince us that every impossible situation can be fixed in 30 to 60 minutes. We don’t realize it, but we expect all of our difficulties to be fixed quickly as well. Yet, there wouldn’t be much value to learning those lessons if we didn’t suffer some. We wouldn’t have compassion on others. We wouldn’t sympathize or desire to help anyone. We would be come unbelievably selfish. The saying of “a silver lining in every cloud” is so true. We have to change our perspectives, no matter how bad our situations have become. There is always something positive to find in them . . .  whether it is a harsh life lesson, or an improvement of our character, or discovering that “it could always be worse” and to be very thankful that it’s not.

So, whether you are in a difficult place right now or not . . . as we know the difficulties will, again, arise at some point . . . believe that great character is refined through difficulties. Remember that your best way “out” of a situation is actually to endure the hardship. It usually improves once we understand that we’re not alone, we need to reach out to others, we need to take hold of a positive mindset, and be thankful for what is going well. Just as diamonds are refined from just plain, dirty rocks, we are refined by our difficulties when we are determined to persevere. We become beautiful, multi-faceted, and we brightly shine. We become a hope to others. We become better versions of who we are supposed to be, and we realize that life – and everything – has a purpose.