Life's Whirlwind
(There is peace: if you look to yourself to find it).

I think that there isn't anyone who could deny the fact that human beings are complex creatures, with much more to them than what greets the eye. We feel anger, love, sympathy, frustration, hurt and a dozen other emotions throughout our lives.

Life moves at a whirlwind pace, constantly shifting us from one circumstance to another, sometimes forcing us from one emotion to the next within moments. Is it any wonder, then, that most of us have experienced deep sadness or depression? Is it any wonder that we sometimes feel so very out of control of own lives?

Sometimes during the trials of my life, I have often wondered, "how do others do it? How does everyone else find the strength to crawl out of bed one more day?" It used to seem mind boggling to me and extremely incomprehensible. But then finally, I discovered the answer.

God placed us on this hectic earth that sometimes seems out of control but I couldn't believe that the loving, kind and merciful God I had been taught to believe in would place us on this out of control earth without giving us gifts: tools, to help us find the eye of life's storm.

I was right. He has given each of us several different weapons to help control our lives. One of the best weapons He's given us is our talent, our self-expression. Mine happens to be writing, while my sister's is in designing clothes. Others find theirs in singing or acting or sports or any number of things. There are as many different forms of self-expression, talent, as there are people but the point is that we all have one. If we can only look within ourselves and discover our talents, then we can use them to help us feel better whenever the going gets tough. Whenever I feel overwhelmed, for instance, I pull out my pen and within moments, literally, I'm taken away to a fictional world and everything is within my grasp once more. Not only does using our talents help us feel better about the situation, it helps us feel better about ourselves. Wouldn't you agree that just having good self-esteem often helps us conquer depression?

But God is full of grace and understanding: He realized that some people may never find their talent or be able to learn to use it instead of more unhealthy ways to live, so He provided another outlet: words. Though sometimes used in anger that can be weapons of pain and degradation, words are, I believe, one of healing's most remarkable assets. Just talking about our lives and the many different emotions we have helps so much. It gives us a sense of not being alone, and the knowledge that another human being cares enough to listen to us talk about those things, and to understand, can provide immense relief. Sometimes, it's even harder to learn to use words for our benefit as part of the comforting and healing process, but when we do, I believe, it is one of the most effective.

After all, God created Eve because Adam was lonely and didn't have anyone to talk to about the challenges of living in an out of control world or to share it's joys. Since the beginning of creation, then, conversation has been one of man's most valuable and powerful tools.

God, though, is all-knowing and He knew that the many millions of people He would create would all have different personalities. Some would find peace and happiness with self-expression, while others would find it with the communicative ability of words. But what about the rest of the people? And what about those times when self-expression and conversation aren't enough even for those who know how to appreciate and use them? What then? Were humans meant to merely suffer?

No.

For those people, and those times, God provided the most powerful tool of all and often the most effective, for any situation. Being able to actually talk to God Himself is an experience that can give the soul its greatest control, its greatest peace. Yes, this life is a whirlwind but talking to the One who created it can help restore order to it, and help us through life's more difficult moments.

I believe that each and every day is filled with as many good things as bad things. The key, though, is to open our eyes and discover the small acts of kindness given to us by strangers and friends alike. When we have control and order in our lives and when we stand in the middle of happiness' light then it's easier to see those daily good events. And though it's hard sometimes, when we use those gifts God has given us: self-expression, conversation and prayer, to combat the more confusing and difficult moments, then we are more quick to find, and appreciate, the happiness that we were all meant to find.