Positivitea Cup Seven: Soldier On

There are a thousand little thoughts muddled in my head that I want to put into this post, but surely I'll never be able to put everything I want to into words. It's not necessarily easy trying to convert feelings in my gut into sentences and paragraphs only to fall short. There's a lot going on in the world right now, just as there always has been. But in a time of social media and news outlets and, to be quite honest, a time of heightened everything, the bad is constantly publicized. Over the past month, there seems to be something new on my Tumblr dashboard or Twitter feed that is asking for prayers. Pray for blank, my thoughts are with blank...Every day, there's something new, whether it's global, national, or even just a personal tragedy from a friend.

To stay optimistic in a time of inexcusable violence and personal tragedy is not an easy task. It's not a necessary task, no, but my fear is what happens when pessimism kicks in. If there's no one to believe that things will get better, whether it's the nature of laws or even just someone out there playing god, then wouldn't everything remain stagnant? There needs to be someone pushing for change for there to be some, no? From wishing to overcome self-struggles, like the loss of a family member or friend, to wishing that there could be some systematic and civil change in your state, country, the world, to merely throws your hands up in defeat won't do much good.

Finding the light at the end of a dark, seemingly endless tunnel is not an easy task. It might seem like an impossible task, as the tunnel keeps getting longer and impossibly darker. Finding your place of peace with your struggles is a possibility, but you have to soldier on. Nothing comes easy, unfortunately. We have to fight for what we want, fight for our happiness, fight for the rights of those who cannot. To merely give up or not try at all is putting the power in those hurting us, in the people and emotions that plague our daily lives.

Take the power back. Strap on your boots and trudge through the tough times. There will be hardships and struggles, but sometimes the best things in life don't come easy. Push yourself. Don't be afraid to feel. Remember to soldier on through the good and bad. Asking for help from those around you does not make you weak. Requesting and accepting help through your struggles is not admitting defeat. Strength can come in numbers and no single person has to carry the weight of the world entirely on their shoulders.

"Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light."