Words to Live By

You know those gems, those words of wisdom passed down through your family tree all the way to your grandpa. You know, the ones he just loves to share with you as if you were still a young whippersnapper sitting on his knee. “If life hands you lemons; make lemonade” or “the grass is always greener in someone else’s pasture.” to name only a couple out of thousands. All of which are great words to live by or to keep in mind, but rather cliché don’t you think? Well I certainly do. So I offer you, here today a new pearl. Something I live by on a daily basis, and have for many years now. You wouldn’t think a few words strung together could have such an impact on one’s life, but these three simple words have given me strength and motivation when I had none. It just doesn’t seem right to keep such a secret.

So here it is, are you ready for this? “Rain brings Rainbows”. Simple, right? When I say that to people I get one of two responses. Either they say “what? That’s the silliest (dumbest, lamest, etc..) thing I have ever heard” or they just smile and say something like “oh wow I really like that” or some other form of positive feedback. But if you take a minute to think about it, I mean really think about it, it makes perfect sense. You can’t have a rainbow without rain, just like you can’t have light without dark, good without bad, ups without downs. Life is all about balance; ying and yang. Now if you are asking so how does that help you in your daily life? Let me let you inside my head for just a minute, much longer you might go insane, and I would hate to be responsible for that.

This whole way of thinking came to me during a pretty rough breakup. I was always sad, depressed, locked away in my room, not living. And it hit me, out of nowhere, maybe a gift from God. The thought entered my head and I just perked right up. If you never endure hardship how would you know what happiness is? If my life was easy and breezy, how in the world, would I know how good I have it? And since that day, when anything seemingly negative happens to me, I view it as a positive thing. Yea, okay, I might not be happy with my current job, relationship, weight, car, etc... but its only temporary. I know things are going to get better for me. And when they do, they will be that much better. I will appreciate it so much more now that I understand the struggle it took to get here.

So if rain brings rainbows, what does that mean for you? You may be holding tight to a tiny dingy in the middle of a hurricane now, but just think of the front row seat you will have when the storm fades and your giant, wonderful, God given rainbow appears. Just keep in mind, your rainbow will be directly comparable in size to your storm. Have faith my friends, and hold tight knowing things will only get better, more beautiful, if you just hang on a little longer.

Erin