The mindset of the storm. 
Sometimes what happens in the world seems overwhelming, the losses we endure, the infliction of such immense hardship, the problems piling on people like weights pulling them under water. Humans can feel so fragile & so broken at times, that they wonder if breaking further & being broken is a constant state. When hope wanes & eventually dies within us, we have nothing in which to bolster our reason for being.
Sometimes what happens in the world seems overwhelming, the losses we endure, the infliction of such immense hardship, the problems piling on people like weights pulling them under water. Humans can feel so fragile & so broken at times, that they wonder if breaking further & being broken is a constant state. When hope wanes & eventually dies within us, we have nothing in which to bolster our reason for being. Hope is what sustains us even through the unimaginable. We must hold on to our hope, having faith that at some point ahead of us, even around a bend, there is a new day waiting which does promise smiles & an abundance of light. Too many of us are so lost in the dark storms of tumultuous times, grief or uncertainty for which we can’t imagine a passing, that we relegate ourselves to the mindset of the storm always. Then we don’t even notice that the “everyday” has returned, our lives would be better, our skies are brighter . We are still, however, in the storm mindset, our feelings keeping us there almost like a prisoner. When you have a sense that your hope is waning or grasping its last breath, please find the spark within you that calls it back! Life will often bring many storms to weather, but they do eventually pass. Don’t make one storm from now or before your constant sky! Please remember that like all things, bad days, problems, turmoils & upsets do pass! Brighter days are always just ahead, perhaps around an unseen bend, but they’re coming! Hope within you must be stoked & coaxed like a fire, you might have to add kindling & allow it to surge again. You shouldn’t have to relight it though, as hope does always live within you if you just keep the embers from dying in your heart!
This is dedicated to those who struggle with those emotions they just cannot seem to elude . . for all of you who make judgments based on a moment of feeling something now which will pass if you just ride it out! Life is a precious gift, hope is what allows our faith to endure all while we wait, endure, persist & to prosper! Let your hope take you with faith into this new day, resting assured that you will find something in which to be thankful in this gift of life! You’re the one who determines which emotions you ride to shore, after all!
Making lemonade from our lemons doesn’t mean we’re settling for less, it means we are making the best of whatever comes our way & that is how we make the best of our lives! We can choose to exist & to react . . ways to surely suck the living out of your life! In existing, you relinquish your desire to hope for yet-fulfilled & yet-achieved dreams. You simply stop living in a state of faith & hope t…o sustain that faith, & so your life becomes based in fear, worry, regrets, sorrows, “what ifs” & “why nots”. But when you take back the helm of your central internal emotional command, realizing that although you don’t control everything, you do control your responses, you will start to feel empowered & alive once again! 
cherylriesauthor 