There are times when life can be difficult. We can have days, weeks, months where life knocks us onto our backs and it feels really hard to get up again. It can be discouraging. I've been in these dark places before, and many of my loved ones have too.
My sorority brought an interesting perspective into my life. We have something called "sunshine" and "anti-sunshine". Our sunshine is where we share with our sisters something good that happened to us during the week, and anti-sunshine is where we share something that wasn't so positive. Something that was really impactful for me was that you can skip talking about anti-sunshine, but you must share your sunshine. You must share something positive.
That really struck a chord with me. It showed me that even if you were having the worst week of your life, you had to find something positive to share. You had to find that silver lining. And that was really good for me; It made we want to be more of a positive person. That aspect of always trying to see the good was something that I wanted to transfer into all aspects of my life. Now, I try to find something to celebrate from every week, every day. Even if life is discouraging, even if you feel like there's no light at the end of the tunnel, you can try to find something positive. Not only is it something nice to do for myself, but it relieves stress and makes the bad times a little bit easier to work through.
It does not have to be something monumental that's your sunshine. In fact, it can be something really small. Looking for that silver lining in every day has made me really appreciate big things that happen in my life, but it has also helped me to develop a stronger admiration for the little things. I now relish in small moments like getting a really good cup of coffee when you’re tired, or taking a beautiful picture of the sunset. Hearing a good joke and laughing really hard can be great medicine. I now live for making positive memories, no matter what they are. A simple night drive with my friends, where we have the windows rolled down and music playing, can be one of my favorite things in the entire world.
Sometimes it’s incredibly hard to see the positive when you are feeling at your lowest. Yet, I encourage you to try and find your sunshine. Look for little things in the day that make you smile or make you laugh. Not enough? Perhaps right them down, and keep a positivity journal. If we take time to acknowledge even the littlest of things, it can make us feel better all-around. Because, as Albus Dumbledore once said, “Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if only one remembers to turn on the light.”
