Tag: trouble

       I have often experienced the pains of hardship – thankfully, nothing truly devastating, but just the feeling that I was woefully floating nowhere. Truly, as the word suggests, it felt like I was on a ‘hard’ ship drifting through stiff, tough waters.   Looking back, however, I can now see that I actually placed myself on that ‘hard’ ship, and allowed it to steer me into the wildest waves. Yes, unfortunate events happened in my life, but it was always me who jumped on board and called them ‘hard ships’.  I turned adversities into out-of-control boats, and misfortunes into leaky dinghies – and I, poor me, was the ill-treated but valiant sailor. What I now understand is that I could have easily turned each of these hardships into a surprising prosperity. Instead of seeing difficulties and misfortunes as ‘hard’ ships and struggling with them, I could have easily seen them as strong, well-built vessels, and sailed with them, and learned valuable lessons as we traveled together. It’s always – always –my choice when facing tribulations: wrestle with them and get dog-tired and despondent, or go with the flow and maybe find some fresh – and maybe even inspiring– horizons for my life.