Finding the Silver Lining

Author and origin unknown

If you were to put on some real clothes right now instead of your oh-so comfy pajamas, and step out into the world, it's safe to say you'd hear many a person conversing about the close of this year and the start of the next. The celebration plans for this evening, all the things they did over the holidays, and, sadly, a lot of regret for what they did not accomplish.

Oh, regret; the haunter of lost dreams, missed opportunities, and failed successes.

What if in the midst of making all the many, many resolutions, one of those could be that we look at regret in a new light? Instead of defining it as a negative, bad, very awful thing, we frame it as a positive?

Maybe, just maybe, instead of letting regret hang over our heads, weigh us down, and remind us that we could've/should've/would've, we can look at it as a tool that shows us the silver lining to things we would otherwise have missed.

I know, I know - it's hard to see the good in the bad, especially when it takes a lot of time to manifest. A failed relationship or poor decision at work might be haunting you. Or maybe it's all the holiday treats. But what about the good? Did you learn how to stand up for yourself? Did you learn to be a better communicator? Did you enjoy those treats so that you can now move on and enjoy something healthy without feeling like you missed out?

There is always light in dark places, good with the bad, and opportunities to take a negative and make it a positive, even if in a small way. The ability to make this shift in perspective lies in your hands.

The silver linings are out there...it's up to you to find them.