How Did We Get Here?

Your smile used to emanate happiness in the room. Your laughter would reverberate across the hall and into everyone’s hearts. Your positivity was infectious. But now it’s difficult to wake yourself up—mornings have never felt this miserable.

You used to tell everyone that everything would fall into place at the right time, that everything happens for a reason. But now, all your hopes have disappeared. What happened to the love that you once gave out like candy on Halloween? What happened to the heart that was always strong enough to gather the pieces together each time it was shattered?

You used to believe that life was beautiful, that life was made up of good and bad moments that all deserve to be lived gracefully with gratitude. What happened to picking yourself back up each time you fell and nobody was there to help you? You used to know what to do next. You used to have a clear picture of what you wanted in life and what life needed from you. What happened to believing that everything has its season and that it all happens for a reason?

The silence in this room is deafening. The warmth, the love, the happiness can no longer be felt. How did you go from waking up knowing that every single day is a chance for a new beginning to feeling that life isn’t what you thought it was going to be after all?

How did we get here? Where has all the hope gone? Why does every waking hour seem so difficult now than ever before? When did life start feeling this uncertain? When did it all become this frightening?

There could be a glimmer of hope. This might all change from here. You can wake up tomorrow feeling like a new person. Or you won’t. You’ll realize that nothing lasts forever, that this phase will end soon, one way or another.

It will all come to pass. But for now, we have to figure out how we got here.