Easy lives make weak women

(Mt. Batolusong, Rizal, Philippines)
I'm not about to recount the trials and tribulations that have transpired in and between my 24 years of existence, but I will say that truly, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger [Mantra of 2018].

They say that a good morning is a mindset, but what happens after you decide is usually a true test of patience and strength.

Like many men and women before, among and after me we all have to face things that will try to phase us, it doesn't matter what's it about, what point in our lives it arrives, or if it comes by singles, by doubles or like a set of waves that once one knocks you down, 4 or 5 more are sure to come and will have you gasping for air, down on your knees begging for mercy from the God almighty, tear and snot-stained, praying for even just a piece of thread to hold onto.

(Liwliwa, Zambales, Philippines)

Many people will compare your troubles to theirs as if you have no right to be troubled or to be sad or to even think that you have it bad when they have it worse. Worse is subjective, and problems are relative to those who are experiencing it, the best thing we can do sometimes for people is to lend an ear and try not to judge them through our own experiences because who knows what are their capacities, and levels for pain tolerance? Only God and themselves do.

But that's the way people are built, some like to air their dirty laundry and look for sympathy and some like to deal with it on their own instead, by being productive, keeping themselves busy to either forget or provide solutions to what ails them. Some people morph into the people they're with and get lost in the puzzle of what is and what's not, because the very idea of just being is simply inexplicable. Some will be at peace with the thought of having not done anything and everything that happens to them is the result of the fault of others and they were simply caught in the cross-fires and are only part of the collateral damage. Some will just let it go, and breathe, and think...it's another day to be alive, and and maybe brought down, but only the powerful (not to mention mature) will rise and continue to rise.

I'm not of liberty to say who I am at earth-shattering moments [read: Einstein's Law of Relativity], but I'm glad of the person I am and continue to become. I may not be totally proud, but in moments of question, at least there's one thing I'm sure of and that is myself, and what a good feeling it is to know even just this one little thing in a world of people who doubt you, in the end....they simply do not understand, and that's okay.

But for the sake of being a nearly decent human being, you might want to "be kind to everyone you meet, you don't know what they're going through".

(Time, Beauty, Innocence - These are the things in life you can never get back once wasted)

Love and light,

Sarah the, ______ :)