Last weekend as we were getting ready to go out on the boat, I was reflecting on some of the recent conversations I’ve had with friends about life, relationships, family, work. It made me realize how much I as a person have grown over the last two or three years—for instance, the things that interest me now, how I react to things, how I feel when certain topics come up, and how true to myself I stay in conversations.
I take pride in those things.
I have always, always been a positive person. I have always given the benefit of the doubt to people, even when they are far from deserving of it. I will justify someone’s actions with the fact that everyone handles things differently or we don’t know what’s happening in their life. And overall, I am easily and proudly one of the most understanding and caring people most will ever meet.
My home flooded during hurricane Matthew back in 2015. It had just been purchased months prior and wasn’t in a flood zone, so it was the last thing anyone was expecting. Fast forward to 2018, it flooded again during hurricane Florence—this time, far worse than before. With that flood came the ending of a relationship, which had a waterfall effect and brought many other losses along the way. The coming year was a struggle to adjust to a new way of life. A lot of changes, bumps in the road, and unexpected events happened.
Through it all, I did my best to keep a smile on my face, roll with the life lessons, and have faith that everything happens for a reason. It does. But that smile faded on some days, and there was even a breaking point that required some serious adjustment in my thought process and attitude about things.
I’m not by any means saying life is full of rainbows and unicorns—it’d be a heck of a lot cooler if it was but that’s just not the reality of it. I’m also not saying that when life is pouring down on you, you can’t just break down with it. It’s nearly impossible to always keep a smile on your face and hope for the best.
What I am saying is if you’re constantly picking at every negative in your life, you will never find anything worth smiling for. Hence, “chasing storms”.
We become so accepting of this lifestyle that we fall into a hole that seems to have no way out. Before you know it, even the good things in life are being destroyed with negativity, whether it’s actually there or we ourselves create it.
When we are constantly chasing drama, looking for problems, and doubting things, that is all we will ever find, simply because it’s what we are searching for and we won’t stop until we have it. However, the thrill of that is short-lived. Once it’s gone, we need more. It’s a never-ending cycle that can never actually be satisfied. It puts us in a constant state of needing more.
Sometimes we don’t even realize that’s what we are doing. When we are able to step back, see it, and accept it is when we can change it. That’s when we fight that urge and choose to see the good, the positive, the blessings in our life.
That’s when you’ll start to find your rainbows.
It isn’t always an easy thing to do. But when we are able to understand that we are choosing to stir the pot and create storms for ourselves, we are able to put a stop to it and take control. We are able to get through whatever storm is in our path and reach the rainbow at the end.