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A post shared by Elephant Journal (@elephantjournal) on Nov 24, 2018 at 11:31pm PST

The harsh truth is: life happens, and it could care less what you think of it.

Your opinion will not stop tragic events from happening.

You may lose your job, your friend might be diagnosed with cancer, you suffer a huge hit financially, you could lose that baby you’ve been dreaming about holding for the last six months, your childhood home might be torn down, or you could divorce after years of trying to save your marriage.

But rock bottom doesn’t have to be a bad thing.

I know, because I’ve been there. I’ve touched the bottom, but I’ve learned to challenge the meaning of my life—refusing to accept the cards I was dealt, or at least how I hold them.

I believe every storm finishes with a rainbow if you wait long enough to glimpse it.

There will always be downs, even if you don’t personally feel the cold sting of rock bottom, that’s just reality.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought this is it, this is finally my moment—only to be shot back down with another disappointment. And when I had it all, it was hard to be grateful, because when you don’t want for something, it loses value.

But then I learned that if you change your perspective, and view those “downs” as a chance for your roots to grow deeper, you may also see that such strength enables you to steady your glorious oak tree in the worst of storms.

Looking back, I would never wish for an easy life.

All of those rainbows I see now, all the miracles I witness daily, the happiness that fills my soul every morning—they would be lost in the magnitude of that fortune.

I wouldn’t know the love of the people I now call my family, if I hadn’t been abandoned.

I wouldn’t treasure my job so passionately if I hadn’t struggled—all uphill—to get where I am now.

I wouldn’t live a block from the ocean, and three years later still be grateful to feel the sun on my face every morning and hear the palm trees rustling, if I hadn’t come from the frozen tundra of Minnesota.

These trials in life can change our perspective and challenge us to find our own rainbows.

I don’t hope to live a life full of things. Things are temporary. They break, they lose their appeal, and they just don’t keep you satisfied.

But people? Moments with people you love, doing things that bring you happiness—now that’s what I hope to fill my life with.

My wish is that you can also find your rainbows in the storms and surround yourself with people who seek rainbows alongside you.

People who seek the best out of their life.

People who inspire you to do more, be more, and grow more.

And when the going gets rough, those same people will share their rainbow to carry you through the storm.