Posted on by JJones

Off The Wall: Opportunity in Every Difficulty

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. ”  -Winston Churchill

I have to fight myself to be optimistic. Life in general creates an attitude of cynicism. Just watching the news we are bombarded with bad news, hardships, doomsday declarations, and reasons  to run for the hills. Sometimes it takes a lot of strength to look at what is good in our lives.

I believe as humans we are geared to remember the negative, for basic survival. We often forget the simple joys of life itself.

I was once asked by a teenage girl, “Why do you want to live?” She had attempted suicide recently, and was sent to a youth program I was working at. I had to actually stop and think. I’d never really considered why I kept going, or why I fought to continue on. Like most people I had good and bad days, tragedy and successes in my life.

The answer came to me that life in general isn’t about being happy, or even being sad. Life isn’t about existing, but rather to live is to value those magical moments you actually know you are alive. The first moment that came to my mind that was magical and worth living for was the day my first child was born.

I remembered the sun coming through the window and his tiny cries. I remember everything being so blurry cause my eyes were filled with happy tears. But most of all I remember feeling I was part of a miracle.

So, I still fight to be an optimist and to view difficulties as possibilities. Looking for the beauty in living is not naive nor is it ignorant. But rather to treasure beauty and life takes strength and grace, and a bit of inner fire to continue.

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“Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
When life becomes difficult the first impulse is to run, and the second impulse is to destroy. Instead of facing your own demons and those of the others you love. True friendship isn’t about everything always being perfect, it’s about people willing to face the dark together. Even sometimes face the darkness of each other and overcome.I’ve always enjoyed Tolkien’s novels mainly because they are about different sorts of people being able to overcome the dark. The key in most of his stories is that they need each other to do so. Each individual must have faith in the others to continue. The sorts of sacrifices made in the name of friendship are both inspiring and sometimes unbelievable.
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