Today, Action for Happiness says,

“Look for something positive in a difficult situation.”

I say: find the silver lining. Because there’s always a silver lining. I know you don’t believe me, especially if you’re going through a hard time, are depressed, and see no way out. But it’s the truth.

The Silver Lining of Depression

A while ago I shared my depression story, but I didn’t share it all. Perhaps I should say there’s a part 2 which I’ll get to someday, but for now let me tell you that I’m thankful for those awful years as a teenager. Let me repeat: I’m grateful for my depression. My depression and OCD did in a few years what it would take decades to accomplish: it made me strong, it made me wise.

I have been through the fire, and I’ve been refined (somewhat—it’s an ongoing process). I’ve learned about myself, about the nature of struggle, about the love of God. I’ve learned about compassion. I would not be who I am now without what I went through then (and still). So there’s a silver lining for you.

The Silver Lining in Loss

Here’s another example: My brother died in 2013. It was awful; it’s still hard. But there’s a silver lining. I found that people can and do come together during hard times. My family and friends came together; we were closer and stronger. We learned the value of love, the value of each other.

Even now, I live with a perfect brightness of hope that I will see him and embrace him again. Hope is a silver lining.

There’s a silver lining around every cloud, a sunshower in every storm. There’s joy in grief, love in loss, strength in struggle. There’s always good, always a reason to smile, always a reason for happiness. No matter what.

Choose Joy.

—A