"Life is amazing. And then it's awful....And it's breathtakingly beautiful." ~LR Knost

Last week, I was in a bit of a rut.  It was one of those weeks I felt like nothing I did was good enough and everything that could have possibly went wrong, went wrong.  We all have these weeks (or days, or months, or even years) and when we are living through them, it feels like they'll just stretch on forever.

My mom sent me this quotation at just the right time which really helped me to put everything in perspective (Moms are great, aren't they?):

"Life is amazing.  And then it's awful.  And then it's amazing again.  And in between the amazing and the awful, it's ordinary and mundane and routine.  Breathe in the amazing, hold on through the awful, and relax and exhale during the ordinary.  That's just living heartbreaking, soul-healing, amazing, awful, ordinary life.  And it's breathtakingly beautiful."  ~LR Knost

Did you ever think about the fact that our life is basically one really long day with naps of various lengths mixed in?  (Last week was also one of those weeks during which I had a lot of weird, deep thoughts like "Why are we here?", "What is my purpose?", "Would the world be a different place if we were allowed to mix flavors at the creamery?")  All the small events that we live through each day add up to create this large-scale, big picture that, in the end, we define as our life.  It's absolutely insane.

"Life is amazing."  We are so fortunate to be getting a great education at a wonderful school, surrounded by supportive peers and teachers.  We all have people that we love and who love and care for us.  We have so much potential to be whatever we choose to be in the future.  And let' s not forget, we get to experience this glorious fall weather in the most beautiful setting and we have West cookies to cure any of our maladies.

"And then it's awful."  Sometimes, we question the big decisions we make or we feel like we have no direction.  We may lose a loved one.  We could fail or be told that we'll never be successful.  We may feel powerless in our own lives, which is a really scary feeling.

"And in between the amazing and the awful, it's ordinary and mundane and routine."  We wake up, brush our teeth, go to class, do work, study, fall asleep, and repeat the entire cycle again.  Sometimes, we just go through the motions and feel as though we don't have very much to look forward to.

In these situations, it's important to...

"Breathe in the amazing."  Regardless of how the rest of your life is going, when something wonderful happens, soak it in and appreciate the good feelings that you have in that moment.

"Hold on through the awful."  Know that there is always a silver lining, that there is always help when you most need it, and that no matter how bad a time may seem, with positive thinking, it will pass.

"And relax and exhale during the ordinary."  Just enjoy the ride and appreciate the small things in your day that make it special.

And the truth is, "that's just living heartbreaking, soul-healing, amazing, awful, ordinary life."  We all need to recognize that everybody experiences their own hills and valleys.  The only thing we can do is to be aware of our feelings and the feelings of others and help each other to navigate the rough seas in each of our individual lives.

This week, try to reach out to someone who may be having a rough time and encourage them to see all the wonderful things in life that make it so worth living.  As I write this, the breeze is gently blowing, vibrant red leaves are fluttering from the crystal blue sky, and I can't help but to think that, right now, life is good.

"And it's breathtakingly beautiful."

Photo courtesy of PSUpix on flickr.com