The Darkest Hour

There are times when the world is just too much. When fate, fortune and the will of men all turn against us and the deck is simply stacked too deep for us to come out ahead. These are times when a stiff upper lip and a drive to push on are simply not enough. These are times of desperation of hopelessness and isolation. Many turn to their faith hoping for relief, others reflect within searching for answers within themselves when none can be found in the world around them. But no matter where you turn or where you look, you always learn about yourself, and in that small regard, our darkest times can be turned into our most valuable assets. For when we are just going about our lives, we're practically standing still. We aren't changing or making any effort to improve, we are simply drifting. With shifts happening over months and years and little idea where we are going, just a vague idea of where we've been, we learn nothing and grow little. The moments that move us not only change us, but show us the direction that we are heading. For the first times in our lives, we see who we really are, what we are becoming and are given the power to change it. Through the tears, pain and loss comes a sense of opportunity, a chance to rebuild, to improve and to grow. In the long run, we are refined more by our dark times then the times we were just surviving. Our darkest hours are the ones that cast the sharpest contrast on our live, chance us the most and make us who we are. Though that doesn't reduce the sting of those times when we're in the thick of them, nor is it meant to, it means there is always hope, a chance for a brighter future and better days.For no destruction takes place without presenting and opportunity for recreations and no dark times can pass without providing valuable lessons and a chance to become something stronger. So yes, we need to cry our tears and mourn our losses. Yes, we need to deal with the tragedies that have surrounded us and cope the best that we can. But through it all we must remember that the future is being written today, even as history is being destroyed. Finally, we must remember when we emerge from these times, no matter when that is, we'll all be changed people, wiser, stronger and with a new understanding of who we are. We must use that to work toward creating a better future, a greater tomorrow. That's the only way to ensure that what was lost hasn't perished in vain and the only way to paint a picture of our lives defined not by the darkest hours, but by the lessons learned from them.