When you finally gain control of your life for the better, everything gets stripped from you.

There is a difference between living and existing. I believe I have been existing most of my life, with moments of living. There are always questions that come across my mind, and many are centered around “why is this happening to me?”

What I have observed from myself and others, is that life gets worse before it gets better. Maybe you are a recovered substance user or addict who finally became clean thinking that life would be wonderful because you finally took control and became healthy. Unfortunately, that does not seem to be how it works. Perhaps you got yourself out of an abusive relationship after years of torment, only to finally have hope in a new life?

In my experience, when you finally gain control of your life for the better, everything gets stripped from you. You may lose your home, lose friends, lose employment, get bank accounts seized, or have one devastating blow after the other. Why does this happen? Why now, when we clean up our life do awful circumstances take place?

I can answer this by saying that when a lot of bad things happen to you, you have the right to feel angry, sad, wronged, hurt, frustrated, and shitty! You have the right to give yourself a safe place in feeling like absolute crap! Some people have multiple rock bottoms. Most of the time, for things to come together, things need to fall apart.

I believe that the sequence of unbelievably bad things that happen is because we need to start again with a clean slate to create whatever story we would like. It is unfortunate that devastating things need to happen. Yet, I see that negative occurrences must happen for us to turn our lives around.

Rather than lament over our misfortunes and asking God why we are so targeted or unlucky, we need to see the positives in the crumbling world around us. Everyone suffers, everyone loses, and many will give up amid all these circumstances. When your world falls apart, you will have a choice to make. You can surrender to losing yourself and wallow in self-pity, or you can decide that you will NOT accept this fate.

You DO have the power to refuse certain outcomes and find the strength to withstand these blows. Life is willing to give you success, love, happiness, and abundance but you must take a hard look at your situation and make changes. Maybe you believe that you have made the changes and the days, months, or years that followed were unfair? It is hard, I know. You may have lost everything over a stupid decision, a stupid mistake, but how you respond is what matters.

Life will tear you up and rip you apart, and there are days you do not want to get out of bed. The truth is, we have everything we need and losing everything is exactly what you need to have a healthy body, mind, and soul. Now, you are carrying less baggage, you are more focused on achieving your life’s goal, and success will be waiting for you.

The Universe has always given you clues, secrets, and whispered in your ear all along, and you may have ignored it until one day the Universe smacked you on the head with a two-by-four. Change is scary, but it can also be empowering. The key in this process is letting go. That breakdown that you just went through will lead to a breakthrough if you let it.

Have you noticed that many children do not dwell on worries, fear, or doubt? They live in the present moment. Be curious, try new things, make conversations with strangers, and smile through the bullshit.

A piece of advice – help others when you are broken. Opening your heart, doing good, and being of service to others is one of the most fulfilling jobs there is. Speak your truth, be honest, and help those who are less fortunate.

Life is not sunshine and rainbows, there is always grief and despair. At certain points in our lives, we will be stripped of everything to simplify our existence for us to reconnect with ourselves. Create optimism, let go and forgive people who have wronged you and create sweet freedom in your unknown future. Living is about getting spiritual and eliminating waste in your life.

So, if your life is hard right now, take a few steps back, re-evaluate, recalibrate, and take this as an opportunity to reinvent yourself. I promise you; you will be ok and you will receive blessings when you create positivity in a negative situation.