It’s easy to value simplicity and predictability as humans, yet we cannot rejoice good moments in life if we haven’t first walked through the storm. 

Oftentimes in life, it’s difficult to see the good in the pain. However, the hardships that occur give meaning to the joy, beauty and love we experience in life. They also force us to find the silver lining during challenging circumstances. 

When I was thinking about how we need both the fruitful and dry seasons, it reminded me of the book “The Giver.” In the novel by Lois Lowry, the author writes about a utopian world where there is no suffering or discomfort. Yet, to mitigate the dreadful experiences humans face, that means there are no such things as love, joy and color in their world. All the characters in the book had their memories stripped of all the meaningful parts of life. 

Consequently, to erase their minds of the evil of the world, they had to trade in what makes life beautiful. The characters lived in an “ideal” society where they knew no pain. Except they had no real knowledge of what it meant to love someone else or how it feels to witness beauty in their surroundings. 

We deal with periods of time where we grieve, cry and feel pain. Yet all of those emotions and experiences give us gratitude during our prosperous seasons. We may have to sacrifice by experiencing the dark parts of life, but this leads us to find deeper meaning during our time of contentment and joy. 

At one point, the protagonist in “The Giver” was exposed to the memories that were forbidden in his community. He experienced music, color and joy, but the people in his civilization didn’t have the same opportunity as him.

Lowry wrote, “The community of the Giver had achieved at such great price. A community without danger or pain. But also, a community without music, color or art. And books.” 

This quote makes me believe that we cannot have the good without the bad — similar to how the community was shielded from pain, but that meant they couldn’t experience what makes life wonderful. We wouldn’t know authentic love if we didn’t know loss. Nor would we know joy without the presence of sorrow. The quote above expresses how we need both in order to appreciate life.

Therefore, humans could not rejoice in their triumphs if they didn’t have the understanding of what it means to have losses. How could someone know real contentment if they didn’t experience dissatisfaction before? Those hard seasons make the victories even more rewarding because you know what it’s like to not always get what you want. However, once you have a winning moment, you’re grateful for it even more. 

Additionally, in the midst of trials, it’s possible to find goodness in your struggles. According to an article about adversity in Forbes Magazine, “finding the upside to an adversity changes the way people cope — they look for social support, report more hope for the future…” 

If people that go through difficult times can still have hope for the future, that means their current problem didn’t destroy them. That adversity they faced allowed them to look to the future for hope. 

Instead of thinking you’re cursed when something terrible happens to you, it’s important to reframe your way of thinking. We should view suffering as an opportunity to grow and learn. We could not grow as an individual if everything in life was simple or easy for us. Therefore, we should ask ourselves what can we learn from this situation? It’s about finding goodness in everything, even when it’s not noticeable. 

The challenges we experience allow us to become more empathetic individuals. Pain connects us to one another, and we’re able to help someone else that’s going through a stormy season. If we have to suffer in this lifetime, we should at least try to make good use of it. We shouldn’t have to agonize over our problems for no reason. Instead, use the pain for good, and be an encouragement to someone else that is going through a difficult time. 

Don’t be discouraged if things don’t go exactly as planned because there is something to learn from that. Hardships are meant to make you more grateful for your seasons of triumphs.