Facing Adversity

This is a large topic and one that in the stage of life I am in right now seems like a topic I revisit on almost a daily basis. I am not sure it is the age I am at, but guessing it has something to do with it.  My parents and my friend's parents are getting older, some have even died at what seems like a young age for our society, I have a young family, my career is hitting its stride, my marriage is 10 years old, and I am starting to see a future filled with challenges around financing my life, education for my kids, and my retirement. 

In my 20's and 30's, the adversity I faced was so different, but no less stressful.  Career and family were where I focused a great deal of my time and energy.  Life outside of those was consumed by friends and fun.  I wanted to see more of the world and I slowly but surely chipped away at that.  There was always the hope that I could turn a big idea into a quick million, but I chased peace of mind more than a large wallet.  I had not established a career and that was something I tirelessly pursued into my late 20's.  While I waited for the right woman to show up in my life, I did a ton of soul searching and inner work.  I read, I wrote, I thought, I stared and sometimes I just questioned.  But through it all I persevered and built myself up.  I had answers to most questions and where I did not have answers I had philosophies and points of view.  I had dug deep inside myself and challenged the world around me.  I built character and developed my world view.  I grappled with my faith and searched for my own higher power and did not limit my search to my upbringing.  I looked at different religions from all over the world for perspectives I had not considered.  I assembled various threads of truth and purity to weave together my fabric. Through it all I got a true sense of who I was and who I wanted to be in the world.  I sketched bold lines in my life and tried like heck to not cross them at all costs.

Then came my 40's and life took on all types of new challenges that have tested what I have constructed.  I am not sure how I would have survived the adversity of the past few years without my foundation and my faith. Everyone faces adversity, but is part of the human condition to struggle?  Do we truly grow in the face of adversity?  Is it possible to build character without facing life's challenges like death, working at relationships, creating financial stability, and stoking career ambitions? 

I guess another way to look at this is what makes us look deep inside ourselves?  Because only by turning and looking into our deepest beliefs and motivations do we find faith.  I truly believe that we all carry around God within us, but few of us set out on the quest to discover and unlock that relationship.  Only when we are at our weakest do most of us turn to our faith for guidance.

Is the truest test of all what we do in the face of adversity?  In my case, I have chosen to stand as tall as I can and stare adversity in the face.  I have decided to put all that I know and all that I have learned to the test.  I have decided to fight my way through it and not give up on those people closest to me.  I truly do not know why I have done this as I know many in similar situations who took the easy way out or in some cases had it far worse and the only answer was to run...as quick as you can in the other direction.   In many ways, if I run away from the adversity I am facing, I am running away from all of my core beliefs.  Namely:

1. God would not give me more than I can handle
2. Always take the high road - the view is much better in the short and long run
3. Be loyal to other people
4. Remember where you came from
5. What you do in the face of adversity shows what type of person you are
   

When all is said and done, I contend that most of the lessons we have learned are found in the face of adversity. The challenges we face and overcome fuel our souls and propel our lives forward. How we handle failure is far more important than how we handle success for in those moments when we are filled with doubt, regret, pity and possibly a loss of will is when we best understand who we are as people. We know who are friends really are. We understand if our core beliefs are validated. We understand and want to explore the greater truths of the world.