It’s a deep prayer. It is faith. That in the most troubling, the most trying of times, we can know that levity will come.

It is hard to see out of a ditch when you are in it. But you cannot lose hope. You must believe that there is a way out –that spring will follow the winter.

No matter how cold, how barren the Earth, you must know that the birds will sing and the buds will spring forth.

I have been there. In the darkness. I have been born from there.

It is in that deep silence that there is deep reflection. It is in the isolation and quietude that I dream of a brighter future.

Beneath the winter snow lies the promise of spring.

I pray that you persevere. I pray that you live with foresight. I pray that you do not give up hope. That you know the inevitable cycle of the seasons. Know that your trials will lead to victory. Believe in the power of love. Believe in the karmic justice of the universe.

I understand that the weight can feel too much to bear. I understand that giving up feels like the only option sometimes. But you are not alone. I would love to see you overcome.

I would love to see you emerge as a champion. Victorious in courage and compassion.

I have been buried. But I have also risen to see the glory of life. The spring blossoms and the joys of summer. I have seen the light, and I pray that you have the strength, no matter how dark, to choose to remember the light.

We all face challenges. But you are made stronger as you overcome them. As you push past the limits of what you thought was possible. As you develop your resiliency.

Nobody lives without pain. Choose life. Choose love when it is the hardest thing to do.  Especially when it is the hardest thing to do.

In your sadness, I pray that you have the courage to dream of happiness. Please know that you are not alone.

I do believe that everything has it’s place in our lives, and it is up to us to determine how to proceed. We cannot control what happens to us, but we can control how we react. I hope that you choose to let your challenges strengthen you.

I understand that that is easier said than done. I know that some challenges seem insurmountable, but you must believe. You must not give up hope. You must speak, again, and again, and again.

It is in the periods of quiet reflection, when we are alone and abandoned, that we are preparing for new life.

This life we live teeters between heaven and hell. We experience ecstatic joy and debilitating miseries. If we are able to face the pain, but keep our eyes towards the heavens, I believe we will overcome the greatest challenges.

As the sun sets, and it will, time and time again, we experience the darkness. The contrast makes it all the more unbearable. The sweet highs lead to the bitter lows. And that is the dualistic nature of life.

So in times of the highs and lows, it’s important to remember the flux and flow of life. It’s important to remember that we are destined to face both of these situations. And to not be to attached to them as we experience them.

It takes incredible strength to move through pain and not turn it into suffering. But I believe it can be done. And I believe that it starts with the acknowledgment that relief will come. It will not be easy to sit patiently as the darkness seems to only deepen, but I have been through it enough times to know that the sun will again shine.

I know that my suffering is temporary, and I allow it to change by not making it mine. I see the suffering that wants me to own it. I see how it wants to be written into my story. But I choose to accept it as a necessary evil. That it reveals to me what I truly do want. And to realize what I do want, I accept, may take hard work. But it is revealed to me in the struggle that appears.

I pray that you believe me.

I pray that you find the strength in yourself to continue when it is the most challenging. Because that challenge will be directly proportional to the exuberance of your victory.

I believe that greatness awaits us all. I want to arrive there with you. I want to smile, and laugh, and hold you as we celebrate the precious journeys that we’ve had.

I know, to some degree, that life is hard.

Please know that you are not alone. Please know that winter will most certainly be followed by spring. And it will be beautiful. It will make sense of the seasons.
My heart goes out to you. Please continue. Please, with great courage and resilience, continue.