In my recollection, I don’t remember the years of my life being smooth. They never were. Many doors remained shut, access was difficult, patience was stretched thin, and the end goals often seemed or still seem distant. Isn’t that the case for everyone's life?

Indeed, my friend, without the slightest doubt, it is!

Like many, I don’t recall living through easy years. Do you know, my friend, what was the hardest part for me during those challenging years? It was the ceaseless battles swirling inside my head and heart.

The most valuable lesson I was compelled to learn was to allow the battles to rage around me and not within me. To maintain a slight distance between myself and everything that troubles me, to learn not to invite sorrows - as they come unbidden anyway -, to remember every day a blessing from God, to hide my deficiencies and needs, and then to address challenges in order of their importance and not based on my urgency to see them gone.

Two words had the best impact on confronting troubles: "Focus on yourself."

All the challenges you face in your day are your most precious gifts.

If you dedicated all the years of your life to solving the problems of your loved ones, a lifetime over another lifetime would still not suffice. Not because you’re incapable or negligent – by God, you’re not!

We simply hasten goodness for our dear ones.

We forget that life’s journey is filled with challenges just as it is brimming with joys, and your ability to turn the tide of happiness towards you depends on your capacity to self-improve and overlook whatever threatens your happiness.

If you ask someone the color of the sky, they’d most probably say it’s blue. But is it really?

Often, when we look at the sky, we see only blue, even when it might be dusty, grey, or overcast, foreshadowing winds or rain. Yet, we all see it as blue, for that’s the color imprinted on our minds.

This is precisely my point: to dominate your mind with the color blue, to disregard as much as possible the changing hues, and to operate on the principle that the sky is always blue, just as I love to see it.

The mind has an astonishing ability to adapt to all hardships. If it weren’t for our own propensity to wallow in our own sorrows, believing this alleviates them.

Mastering the art of ignoring mammoth problems is the beginning of your journey out of them. It marks the start of creating a buffer between you and your worries, heralding a new chapter in your life where negative thinking leaves you, replaced by wisdom, patience, and tranquility.

You’ll be amazed that once you establish these barriers, you can pursue life and savor many of its warm moments, even when nothing has changed except your ceasing to meddle with your sorrows.

Take great care of your depths and never tie your happiness to a circumstance. The best moments of joy are yet to come!

There will always be flowers, greenery, a pleasant cool breeze, the laughter of children everywhere, seeds sprouting, birds chirping, winter rains, cold coming and going, and a cup of tea to adjust your mood and provide warmth.

There are still loved ones on Earth attached to our affections, the sun still rises and sets, days come, situations change, and indeed, we continue to wake up hoping for a better day.

Dreaming of a better tomorrow is like that white cloud that beautifies your sky. It's the only change that befits you, the safe distance between you and your troubles, and the bright side of your soul, which you've inadvertently dimmed.

A few days ago, I had to close my house for five days, and the family scattered to the homes of our loved ones. Though temporary, this situation showed me how accustomed we are to blessings.

Every day you turn your key to enter your home, be sure you are privileged, that life flows within your home, and that your role is not to wallow in problems, but to assure yourself that all is well, despite the circumstances.

Every hour your door opens to a family member bearing the burdens of their day, it's kind of you to help them unload their negative energy and pull them into a circle of affection, contentment, and support.

Our homes shelter us, and we are the best refuge for those we love. And with this understanding, our sustenance arrives, and our breaths of relief continue.

No one will descend to light up the darkness of your heart; you must do it yourself!

Approach God with your brokenness; pray and He will respond. Nobody knocks on God's door without being healed, shedding daily a piece of their soul's emptiness, until they become filled with strength and steadfastness sufficient for them until their next meeting and subsequent prayer.

Even those challenges you've been grappling with for years, thanks to this bond of affection, become your safe path to communicate with the Almighty. The needs of others might be something you can fulfill, but your own needs are met by God Almighty.

May God heal your hearts and place you where you wish.

Lastly, the best thing you can offer yourself and those around you is to live with the face you show, to not change or give in, as some hands are firmly holding onto your arm. Make sure not to linger too long in your sorrows and, before they depart, strive to be better than anyone who passed through them.