"When you come out of the storm, you won't be the same person who walked in. That's what this storm is all about"
-Haruki Murakami
Hello, everyone. First, I would like to say sorry that I haven't written a post for a while. I am back and will do my best to post as often as possible.
Whenever I feel down or discouraged, I will look for inspiring words to motivate myself, and I have found this one that inspires me. In retrospect, I am thankful for the storm in my life.
When I went through the most challenging test in my life, relationship and financial failures simultaneously. I felt like my life was falling apart; I could not see any solutions. I had let myself wallow in sadness for months. I cried myself to sleep every night.
I lived in Bangkok, Thailand. One day, when I was driving to work. There was a lot of traffic, and I got stuck; I observed a crowded, non-air-condition public bus stop next to my car; several people stood because all the seats were occupied. I was thinking how terrible there is that people have to stand, crowding each other on the non-air-condition bus.
Then after traffic started moving, I drove and stopped at the intersection due to red light; a little girl who looked like she was 9 or 10 years old knocked on my car window. She asked if I wanted to buy fresh flower garland. I felt so bad for her that she was very young but was put to do that job.
On that day, there came a time when I had an epiphany. I thought how fortunate I was; I had a car, a good job, and a roof over my head while many people lived in ghettos; some even lived under a bridge. Some had to beg for money and food to survive day by day.
I realized that I was not the only one in the world who had been through a tough time. When my perspective changed, I could see a new way to look at my problems. When I changed the way to looked at things, the things I looked at changed.
I fixed my financial problems by negotiating with my bank; I had credit card debt, and I paid them the amount I could afford. I could do that because I accepted a new job that paid me better than the previous one. It was a challenging job, but I took it anyway.
I could finally fix my financial problem, but my relationship with my boyfriend ended; he kept cheating on me repeatedly, and I could not let it happen to me anymore. I decided to move on. It hurt, but I knew I would finally get over him.
When I look back on my life, I do appreciate all difficulties that I have been through. You have never known how strong you are until being strong is your only choice. And when you come out of the storm, you are not the same person who walked in because you are much stronger. And storm does not break you, but it makes you. I am thankful for the storm in my life.