I write a lot about perspective in my blog posts. Changing my perspective has been one of the greatest things that has happened to me and I'm profoundly happier because of it.
Some of you may think that I look at life through rose-colored glasses. Especially those who don't talk to me much outside of Facebook or reading my blog posts.
While it's true that most days, I'm able to see my life through a positive lens and be grateful for all of the wonderful blessings that I have, it's also true that there are days when I struggle to maintain perspective.
When senseless things happen like random shootings that take the lives of dozens of people, or a beloved family pet who dies unexpectedly, it can be hard to find the positive spin on life.
Even when it's something less dramatic than that, where everything is going wrong for what feels like days on end, it can be hard to maintain a positive perspective.
I think in those times, we need to let ourselves be angry and frustrated.
We need to allow ourselves a few moments to cry and swear at the unfairness of it all.
To be human is to feel strong emotions.
It doesn't do us any good to bottle them up and put on a happy face when we are truly struggling.
Those emotions don't go away just because we put on a fake smile; our feelings of resentment and anger will permeate every new day and ultimately suck the joy out of life.
On our most difficult days, I firmly believe that the best thing we can do is reach out and find human connection.
Surround ourselves with people who love us (or even just one person who truly gets us) and allow them to help us process those emotions.
Some of the most comforting words we can hear are "That sucks" or "I've been there" or even no words at all, just the presence of someone who will sit in the pain with us and allow us to put our head on their shoulder and cry it all out.
99% of the time, a positive perspective can help us get through life with a smile on our faces.
But that other 1% of the time, like the sun going down over the lake on a warm summer evening, our perspective can start to go dark.
We need to sit in that darkness and allow ourselves to feel and process the sh*t that makes no sense.
And we need to know that it's okay to fall apart every once in awhile.
Life is hard.
Some of us make it look easier than others. But underneath it all, we are all human and we all struggle.
Remember that we don't have to go through the tough times or deal with our struggles alone.
If we can keep that in mind, it might make our hard days just a tiny bit easier.
Guess it does circle back to perspective after all, doesn't it?