Collateral Beauty

A few weeks ago I saw the movie Collateral Beauty.  After seeing this movie, I have thought about it a lot since. Without spoiling the plot (I promise), this movie follows a man who has lost his daughter and is suffering from so much grief. The movie concludes by demonstrating that everything in life -both the good and the bad- collectively form all the beautiful moments and lessons in life. And it also points out that everybody has a story, and that everyone is going through something. No "if's", "ands", or "buts".

This movie really hit home for me because I feel like this past year has been a heavy year for me, and for many of us. And for the grand finale of my oh so crazy year, I got really sick for finals week.  I'm talkin' like lose your voice and no one in the testing center wants to sit by you kind of sick, haha.

So, I guess you could say that for the first week of Christmas Break I was feeling a little bit sorry for myself. And as I sat in this movie I started to realize all the Collateral Beauty I have been missing that is all around me, in other words I wasn't looking for the Blessing in the Curse.

After the first week of break my outlook became a lot more optimistic!  But this did not happen automatically, no. Being optimistic often takes a lot of hard work, prayer, exercise (even when you don't want to!), and a conscious effort.

Here are some things that I'm sure happened to many of us in 2016...

***Notice how the "curse" always always has an accompanying "blessing"

The passing of a loved one.... can strengthen family relationships, bring a closeness and unity to a family, and strengthen ones testimony of the plan of salvation.

Loneliness... can turn you outwards as you seek ways to serve others as you get to know them.

Self doubt... can be so uncomfortable that it propels you to accomplish goals that help you realize that you are already more capable than you know.

Recurring health issues... can remind you that God is in control and not you, humble you, increase your faith, and even bring many miracles in your life.

Heartache... reminds you that you are human and have that innate capacity to love and be loved, and teaches you the great feelings that come from healing.

Funny (though not in the moment) incidences... lets just say that I know a girl who forgot to pay her power bill and went without electricity for 2 days during a very rainy weekend............  moments like this can teach us to laugh and to let go of the "not so important" things as we focus on what really matters.

In summary, I am very excited to have a new year!  With this being said, I know that we do not need to wait for the New Year to begin again.  Every day is a fresh start and we can always try a bit harder without becoming down on ourselves.  It is my hope for myself as well as for all those who read this that when hard things happen to us, we will pause long enough to notice all the collateral beauty that stems from our "so called problems".