How to Shift Out of Hopelessness

What gets you out of bed in the morning on your darkest days?
One day I was watching YouTube videos of tsunamis
People captured video footage of homes and humans getting swept away by the sea 
I came across one video of a man crying uncontrollably
He said that the tsunami had taken everything from him
In one day, his family, home, job, and community had been washed away
He looked up at the sky and said “I am all that is left. Why would you leave me?” 
As though the devastation he felt was so overwhelming he wished he had been taken too
When everyone you love and everything you have worked for gets stripped away, what else is there to live for? 
It scared me that I didn’t blame him for wishing he was dead
I had never thought of myself as someone who would entertain the idea of giving up on life
My heart broke for him
In one instant death seems scary and in another inviting
Death could be a way to escape the pain
I realized that my family was what I had been living for
They were what I looked forward to and if I could not share this life with my loved ones then it wasn’t a life I wanted 
But then I remembered something:
The universe owes us NOTHING
Our families and everything we love in this life are gifts
They are not something we are entitled to
Some people live and die never knowing the kind of love I that I have had the privilege of experiencing 
I decided that no matter what happens 
If there are people out there who need love, I will always have a reason to get out of bed in the morning 
Love has the power to heal trauma and builds others up
Love is what the world needs now
I gave myself a new purpose, something more to live for
When dark days come and your fears surface, be present and do not run from them
Listen to what the darkness telling you
You get to decide how to answer it 
If you answer it with, “I don’t know”
You will get lost in confusion 
If you answer it with “I would have nothing else to live for” the darkness will consume you
Emotionally it might feel like you are falling down a black hole with nothing to hold onto, nothing to ground you
Usually when this happens we look up at the sky and ask for answers 
We are desperate for someone to throw us a life line
We ask for a purpose, a reason to live
What we fail to realize that our purpose isn’t something we find outside of ourselves
We create it by making a decision about how we want to spend our time here
You do not have to worry about getting it wrong
All you have to do is explore your mind, listen to your intuition, and follow your heart
You can stop looking to the sky for answers
You can stop waiting on someone or something to give you direction
My purpose isn’t fancy
It is to wake up everyday and love others
It is my anchor, what grounds me
If you are interested in building a legacy and making a difference, begin by seeking to understand yourself first 
If you looked your fears straight in the eye, what could you learn about yourself?
If everyone you love and everything you have worked for gets stripped away, what would be worth living for?
Make a decision
Let that be your life line 
Let that be what lights your path on your darkest days

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