The Word is Silver Linings (actually two words this week)
Definition: Merriam-Webster Dictionary - “a consoling or hopeful prospect”
Posted 8/22/22
“I don't want to stay in the bad place, where no one believes in silver linings or love or happy endings.”
― Matthew Quick, The Silver Linings Playbook
I think a lot about silver linings. I would go so far as to say I consciously seek them out when my life or the life of someone I know has taken an unexpected turn.
My Story on Silver Linings
My father was a quiet man. Talking about his emotions did not come easy for him. He didn’t say the words “I love you” to me until I was in my twenties and only because I asked him to. He would show his love in other ways but not in words.
My father was someone I loved and respected for his honesty, his courage, his protective nature, and his belief in doing the right thing. He was not a rule breaker or a cheat. But he was determined to cheat cancer when it challenged his body, his life. That was the fighter in him, which gave light to the fighter in me. Our silver lining was that of a newfound emotional bond between father and daughter born out of a diagnosis of terminal cancer and a will to live.
It may seem impossible to find a silver lining when your life has taken a turn for the worse. What you initially may need is time to absorb it, space to come to grips with it, and perhaps the shoulder of someone with whom to rest your head to share it. But as time goes on, as changes occur, and new people come into your life, the sighting of a silver lining shining in your direction may be what you need to fill the hole in your heart or the gap left in your life by the change that has taken place. It is what allows you to move on.
I was forty-one when my dad died. I’ll never forget the last time I saw him. I had a very early flight back to Boston and somehow he gathered up the strength to rise from his bed and walk into the kitchen to say goodbye to me. We knew this was the last time we would see each other. That act of strength, our final hug, and the last words he said to me - I love you - is the silver lining I carry with me always.
I want this blog to convey the value of finding that silver lining when you feel lost in a dark cloud or phase of your life that you never anticipated or were remotely prepared for. Something positive can be found when you’re open to it. And if you need help finding it, it might be time to work with a Life Coach, I hope you’ll reach out to me so we can find it together.
I offer a free one-hour consultation to get us started. Email me at innervoicelifecoach08@gmail.com and let’s get started.