Learning To Thrive on Life's Roller Coaster

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I knew this month was going to be a roller coaster ride just from looking at our calendar. But I had no idea that life would throw us some big surprises in too. The surprises have not been good ones, but we're just going to count our blessings that things aren't worse. (She says with a smile.)

This is where I feel like I'm supposed to play the good little blogger and pretend that life is always a bowl of cherries, we have all the money in the world and never have a moment of discord in our relationships. We smile, treat others well and nothing bad ever dares enter our perfect little sphere. Oh, if only life were so. If only I could will only good things to our life by the sheer energy of having a positive attitude, counting my blessings and smiling.

But alas it is not so. Roller coasters have amazingly intense ups and terrifying downs. Bad stuff happens and it happened this week and it's terrible timing for it. (Now I'm imaging anyone reading this feeling like they must write an obligatory "I'm so sorry you're going through a hard time, sending you XOXOs that things get better soon." comment below. I promise you I'm not pressuring you into that either.)

Despite a junky week to say the least, I'm happy, have had moments of joy, have enjoyed my few moments of resting and have not freaked out too much considering the circumstances. This, my friends, appears to be life as it's intended. We get tried with hard, frustrating, painful and sometimes devastating things and our test is to find or return to our peace, to see the good, and find and love the daily bits of joy that come to us.

That's life. Work through the bad and find and devour every bit of good. When I look at some of my best mentors this was not only their survival tool, but their tool to THRIVE! This is one of the qualities that makes them amazing and inspiring. This is what seems to have made them such happy, blessed people. That's my life goal, not to merely SURVIVE but to THRIVE. So on I go to thriving.

Hope you find some moments of THRIVE in your coming days. I'm praying for it for you.