– Andrew Solomon
Sometimes, we all get down and feel like life is a place of endless drudgery or suffering instead of a realm of endless joys and possibilities. Of course, it’s not the world that has changed – it’s our thinking that has us seeing everything in a negative light. When we’re feeling lost and hopeless, it helps to remember that we’re not alone – that everyone goes through hard times, setbacks, and losses, that everyone sometimes doubts themselves and feels unlovable and fears that their pain will never end. I recently saw a great four-minute video called Even the Buddha Had Bad Days that really got me thinking about how we expect spiritual growth to bless us with endless peace and bliss, and how that expectation probably sets us up for even more angst. Even the greatest healers get sick sometimes, and even the most powerful, positive uplifters get down. Sometimes, we have to fake it until we make it, by which I mean we keep just doing those things that have worked for us in the past, we keep holding it all together to the best of our ability, and we keep trusting that the sun will shine for us again one day.