Fast-forwarding the tough times!

I was reading something today that got me thinking. The line was “You’ve got to go through it to get to the end of it” from my latest book craze- The Hunger Games, Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. (Absolutely AMAZING books by the way, I am re-reading them as it is, and can’t WAIT for the movie to come out next year. Warning however, they are no sweet cup of tea, but rather will have you on the edge of your seat, grabbing the hand of whoever is closest type of book that will make you re-evaluate everything that we take for granted and wonder where exactly our actions regarding this world and the people in it are taking us and what will our consequences be? But I digress)

Truthfully how often do we say, I just can’t wait for this to be over, to get through it and survive and reach that time when everything is going to be better? If you’re anything like me, quite often. But really how unfortunate would that be if we just got to skip over the hard times in our lives? It brings to mind the movie ‘Click’ starring Adam Sandler where he gets to fast forward through those tough or boring times in his life and get to the exciting parts. But when he gets there he is lost and confused and can’t understand or truly appreciate what is going on as he has missed all the growth, drama, sweat and tears it took to get there. It becomes meaningless. There is no appreciation for the happy times as there was no balance, no tough times to give meaning to the happy ones.

I am not saying go looking for drama. I have had enough drama in my life I think to know how unpleasant it is to go through it, and why you would WANT to put yourself through that is beyond me. Nor am I saying to prolong a drama until you think you have gotten every little bit of learning out of it that you can. But rather, when a tough time is in progress or coming to a close, examine it and yourself. Think of who you were before and who you are now, think of what you have learned and gained and determine if you have grown as a person through these trials. Have they made you a better person or not? If so, remember this, remember what it is you have learned and apply it to your life, if not then figure out why and what you need to do to change it. But whatever you do, don’t try and go back. In the words of Margaret Hale, main character from the T.V series North and South “Try as we might, happy as we were, we can never go back.”

And why should you want to when you have learned so much? Rather, look forwards to new happiness and adventures that the future holds for you.