Go Be a Light in the Dark

Dear Reader,

Some days you will feel knocked down, but get back up again. I was just reminded recently that though this world is full of pain, heartache, pitfalls, and torrential downpours, you can find an outpouring of love if you just push on a little farther down the path of life. I could live in my grief and build walls out of my pain to keep everyone out, but I'd only be alone in the middle of a fortress of heartache. I would rather take chances and make connections because for all of those that might be severed, there are so many more that might stand firm against the testing of time.

People think that only those that have not suffered think in this way, but Reader, I have suffered countless heartbreaks, survived many deaths, battled my way through many a horrible situation, and I still see so many reasons to be grateful. I will cling to the littlest moments of happiness to get me through the horrors in times of extreme difficulty. That is how I keep on going.

I have been asked many times how I get through everything because it is not a secret to those that know me that I have been through a lot. My solemn vow to myself has been, since eighth grade, to grow to love myself a little more every single day, to look for love anywhere it might be hiding, and to create whatever forms of art that this body will allow as often as I can for as long as I live. I kept that promise to myself and the more I looked for love in the little things, the more I looked for the good in the miniscule, the easier it became to see it all around me. I might have survived a lot of terrible, but I could not have gotten through it if I had thought that the bad was all there was or ever would be. The bad exists and I acknowledge that, but I don't let it rule my life. I deserve better than that and so do you.

I challenge you, Reader, to look for something beautiful today, no matter how small and to let it fill one of the cracks inside you, so that you are a little less empty. I dare you, Reader, to feel the love in my words when I say, you deserve happiness. Go be a light in the dark if you can't find one and watch people flock to you. If you are standing alone in the dark, know that in some way, I am there too, cheering you on.

Peace, light, and love be with you always,

Krista Becker