Oftentimes, in my mental illness, I dwell on negative things.  I have a story to tell.

My daughter had spent three months working on a painting for her friend.  The painting was very detailed and required many hours of work in between doing other things in daily life.  After gifting the painting to her friend, in the two days, the friend told her that someone had taken a pen to it and stabbed it a couple of times.

In my unhealthy mind, if I were her, I would dwell on anything I could think of that was negative.  How could anyone do this?  The painting is ruined in a blink of an eye.  I could understand if this had not happened in such a short span of time.  All efforts of making this the most magical moment were destroyed in two days.  It is like someone took a knife to her very dear painting.

But, this is my daughter’s reaction.  Learning of the news, she remembered sleepless nights of doing the painting. . . I asked her, “What is the light at the end of the tunnel?  Would you paint again?”  Her answer, “It’s done!”  I asked, “What do you mean?”  She explained, “I did a painting for my friend and he liked it.  Yes, I would paint again.”  I was relieved.

I learned that in life bad things happen and instead of dwelling on the negative perspective of the situation, to have the courage and resilience to find the light at the end of the tunnel.  So, I continue to persevere and overcome my anxiety and reach to the light which, for me, is God.