Sometimes, life is hard.  Really, really hard.

We get a bad diagnosis.

The bills keep coming but the money doesn’t.

The test is negative…again.

We’re separated from those we love.

We make a mistake that brings major consequences into our lives.

Dreams and plans don’t seem to follow through.

We have deep pain and sadness, and we don’t know why.

I have some friends going through some really tough times right now.  And it makes my heart sad for them.  I try really hard to be a shining light of love and positivity.  I give advice and try to help them see the situation from a different perspective.  But sometimes all I feel comes out of my mouth is bullshit, bullshit, and more bullshit.

How can we embrace “looking on the bright side” when we feel there isn’t one?  How do we stay positive and full of light when the fact of the matter is – life just fucking sucks right now?

I’ve been blessed with the gift of positivity and optimism.  No matter how hard things get, I’ve always been able to stay positive and present with a smile on my face (well…most of the time).  But for others, it isn’t that easy, and frankly, they wouldn’t be being authentic if they did put on that happy face that in no way expresses how they’re feeling.

So how can we smile authentically when we’re hurting?  Can we?  Should we?  Where do we draw the line between being positive and optimistic while still allowing ourselves to feel the emotions we are feeling?

To begin with, I strongly believe in feeling what you are feeling in the moment.  If you’re angry, take the time to feel angry.  Don’t deny yourself that anger.  The point of living is just to experience, so experience that anger.  Though we tend to categorize feelings as being “good” and “bad”, we need to stop placing such judgments on them.  It’s not bad to feel angry or sad or depressed.  You’re denying yourself the experience of life if you deny feeling these feelings.

I struggled with this for a long time.  I felt like I wasn’t allowed (or didn’t have time) to be feeling these negative feelings, and I definitely couldn’t express them.  These are things I would just throw to the wayside and deal with if I had to.  I’m working on feeling those feelings – expressing what needs to be expressed.  Doing so as divinely as possible, of course.

For me, the ability to be happy even when times are hard comes from the deep faith that life/God/the Universe/whatever you want to call it is on your side and will always take care of you.  Once you fully accept that, then peace within the chaos comes more easily.

But how do you know that life/God/The Universe/whatever you want to call it IS going to take care of you?  How do you even know that they’re there?

The only answer/solution I have to those quandaries is to go within.  Forgetting everything else about the world and simply relying on what your heart and intuition are telling you, can you look at the evidence of life around us and not think that it comes from something greater?  Science is actually starting to PROVE that God exists!  Do you even realize that and know what it means?  Science is proving that there is some force or energy that is behind all of creation.  These spiritual scientific discoveries will continue to be revealed as we progress into this new age.  If it’s hard for you to think of a force outside of yourself determining and directing your future, then just believe in yourself.  Believe that it’s YOU that is behind all of creation (because, in essence, it is).

So smile through the hardships trusting that there’s a bigger force at work here.  There’s a divine plan and life is leading you to exactly where you are meant to be.