"Sometimes when things are falling apart they may actually be falling into place."

It's quite the oxymoron, but it couldn't be closer to the truth.

Life has a way of showing us that the greatest of oxymorons are actually the closest to reality. What we least expect to happen to us will indeed come upon us. And in that process, the most painful situations become the most soothing. The greatest of hardships transform into the most powerful sense of ease. And what you least expect, turns out to become the exact solution to your problem.

It's interesting. Our childhood and adolescent years are spent learning to plan -- to plan for school, grades, college applications, majors, 4-year plans, and the nitty gritty details of our future careers. To take it step-by-step and pile up so much information so that we're ready to answer any and all questions that come our way. We're trained to become robots, and they provide us with all the buttons they decide we need -- the only "education" we receive is to recognize the issue, verify the problem in our provided protocol, and press the corresponding button to resolve.

But they never teach us to prepare for the unexpected.

All it takes is to step outside this robotic frame. And we'll realize that the buttons were nothing more than a trigger external to ourselves. What we seek is within us, if only we reflect.

So when things are falling apart, don't assume it's the end. It's the call to a new beginning. A new beginning where things start to fall into place.

When we're hit with difficulty, we immediately search for the right button to press to end the hardship, oblivious to the very purpose behind the pain. You're not supposed to press a button; in fact, this is the one time when the protocol will fail you miserably.

Desperate times call for answers outside the ordinary, and almost always, you are led on a mission of self discovery. A journey that teaches you who you really are, what your strengths and weaknesses are, and how YOU can find a solution. And don't be mistaken: this solution is not one that any template can ever teach you. It's a journey you must embark on by yourself, and only your experiences can grant you the key that solves it all.

And finally, don't avoid pain. It's meant to strengthen you. It's another oxymoron that teaches us that it's in the tightening of the chains of difficulty that we find the greatest strength in us to overcome. And overcome we will.