I Honestly Don't Mean to be a Polly-Anna, but...

On some level, times are tough for nearly everyone, but each challenge is an opportunity, a blessing in disguise...whatever you want to call it.

I love quotes, inspirational stories, words of wisdom. I collect them and I also receive several by email. I received the following in an email this morning...

"Diamonds are the crystalline form of carbon, transformed by extreme heat and pressure. The constant pressure of billions of years eventually transforms the worthless chunk of coal into a valuable precious stone.

Just like life.

Overwhelming pressure can always be converted into opportunity. And it doesn't have to take billions of years. The moment we shift our consciousness and recognize the spiritual value concealed within our hardships, a sparkling, new diamond is formed.

What diamonds are in the making for you? Focus on one difficult situation today and allow yourself to see it as a gem in the making."

I know. It's hard to do. It's hard to see opportunity in hardship. I have a real difficult time seeing opportunities in my challenges. I admire those who can. Like my son, Chris.

Chris was laid off from his job about a month ago. Sure, he's filed for unemployment and he's looking for work, but he's also planning. He's working on a plan to do what he has wanted to do for years ~ open a restaurant. He's contacting investors, securing his permits, developing a menu, looking for space. Even in this most horrible economic slump of our lifetime and in his most precarious financial situation, Chris has decided to remain positive, look forward, believe in himself and achieve his dream.

Don't we all wish we could be like that?