Holding On to the Good

Life doesn’t come with a manual, but if it did, there’d be a whole chapter titled Hard Times Will Come. And then, just a few pages later, another called Don’t Miss the Good Stuff.

This week, both chapters played out in real time for me.

I received heartbreaking news about a close friend. The kind of news that makes your heart drop, your breath catch, and your mind race to places it doesn’t want to go. On top of that, I’m deep in the season of caring for my aging parents. It’s a sacred role, but also heavy, unpredictable, and humbling.

At the same time, I’ve noticed something else lately: the world feels angrier. People are walking around with short fuses and long lists of grievances. There’s a sharpness in conversations, a tension in public spaces. I get it. Life is hard. It knocks the wind out of us sometimes.

But here’s what I’ve learned, and what I’m working to remember:

We have to protect ourselves from becoming bitter.

Bitterness is a sneaky thief. It starts as disappointment. It grows quietly in the soil of unmet expectations. And if we’re not careful, it hardens us. It closes our hearts. It convinces us that it’s safer not to feel at all.

So I’ve been sitting in silence a lot lately. Not to hide, but to feel. I let the grief wash over me. I let the joy show up too, even if it’s just in the form of my dog laying his head in my lap or the way the sun hits the kitchen counter in the late afternoon.

I ask myself quietly:

Did I follow my heart today?

Did I act in a way that aligns with my values?

Did I care for the people I love?

There’s so much we can’t control. Reality doesn’t always match our hopes or plans. But we can choose how we respond. We can be gentle when the world is harsh. We can offer warmth when things feel cold. We can love, even through the ache.

I’m doing my best to show up as the kind of friend, sister, daughter I want to be, not just when things are easy, but especially when they’re not.

Life is not an easy journey. But I believe in living it without regrets. I believe in feeling it all, and still choosing hope. Still choosing joy. Still choosing love.

Because that’s the good stuff.

And I won’t let it slip by unnoticed.