Look for the silver lining

When Ms. Universe Catriona Gray told the world to see situations with a silver lining, most of us knew that this answer would win her the crown.

To look for the silver lining in the circumstances of life is something we hear so often yet many times fail to do. We judge life by how good or how bad things can be for us yet, there is so much more in the process where in the end, we find what is best for us.

There is a deep sense of wisdom when it comes to the silver linings of life – the kind that actually helps us overcome setbacks or worse yet, a major crisis.

More often than not, we find ourselves either dwelling on the past or thinking too far ahead.

We are either making up for lost time or planning too much for the future that we fail to see the here and now. What life teaches us however is that, and where we least expect it, the most horrible of circumstances can become windows of opportunity waiting to help us reflect and learn to be grateful.

Perhaps one can say that looking for the silver lining is the last thing any of us would see until we are actually “forced” to pause and yield to a life situation.

It is actually in that moment of pause that we begin to search for a certain beauty which somewhat secretly surrounds us.

Silver linings are there to teach us about the unexpected things life brings even in the darkest of situations. It is precisely because of the silver linings in our daily lives that we learn to find the joy even in our struggle.

I’ve learned to look for silver linings through the personal experiences of others. At a time where I thought I had things bad, stories of loss from people who have continued to persevere despite a tragedy have more often than not put me to shame.

When I joined the reserve force at the Armed Forces of the Philippines, I trained side by side with the toughest men and women-  the same ones who have lost their homes, families and even properties during Yolanda.

The realization of literally looking forward to life happens when I see people such as our soldiers, able to laugh, crack jokes or more importantly, tell me their story with hope in their eyes because that to me right there is the silver lining.

Hope in my opinion, is a feeling that is just so hard to describe however, it is something you will realize when you look into the eyes of a person that has lost everything yet trusts that he can recover.

It is in such an experience that I am able to look deep into myself and appreciate what I have and pursue what I hope to be. Whether it be in good times or bad, we all need to train ourselves to look deep into the blessings in disguise. It is a moment of pause that requires us to look up and listen. After all, and as the saying goes, “every cloud has a silver lining.”