For as long as I can remember, I have always been fascinated by the struggle. I know that might sound weird to some of you. Our natural born instinct is to not want to struggle. I get it. No wants life to be hard. The harsh reality is that it is hard.

So let’s be honest…no one is inspired by the easy road. We are not intrigued by the person who seems to have everything good in life just “handed” to them because of privilege or luck. That does nothing for the soul. It’s stale and boring.

Maybe I am fascinated by the struggle because I lived through one.

One that is not unfamiliar by any means and for most of you, you would consider it quite common. I won’t bore you all of the details, but let’s just say it could have been worse (no doubt) and it could have been better. Some of you might get it while others of you may hear that story and wonder, “What’s the big deal? I lived through something worse than that.” (Insert Grandpa’s story of having to “walk to school up hill both ways” here.) Many of don’t like to talk about the heartaches and the moments when life treated us unfair yet we never truly give it full credit…that the struggles we face is what makes our lives everything it is today.

No one wants to struggle all of the time. We need to know that the fights we fight are going to amount to something good at the end. We need to appreciate the lessons we learned with every wrong move we made along with every wrong person that came into our lives. There has to be a balance of both. Life ensures that we never have too much of either.

Ask yourself one question and with an honest answer, you will understand the reason why we need to struggle…

“Would you be the person you are today if you hadn’t endured a struggle of some kind?”

We all know the answer to this and I can honestly say that I lived the life I did to get me here…to this very moment. I would not be who I am without the the struggle and there is nothing I would do to change it.

The beauty of the struggle…

Beauty can be found in the moments where we effortlessly observe something majestic and lovely. But beauty can be found in the courage and strength we find when we are knocked down as well. Beauty is found in the scars we carry after the battle is over and serve as a reminder of just how difficult it was for us. Beauty is found in the moments we treasure, even the small ones, because we know they won’t last forever. Beauty is found in the hope and love that never wavers, no matter how dire the circumstances seem. Beauty is found in the memories made along the rough roads because along those roads we became everything we are right now.

As we travel though life, we will face moments of struggle, when we ask ourselves, “How will I get through this?” With no clear answer in sight, we will continue as we always have — with one foot in front of the other.

And with each step, we find the beauty we never knew was there. The kind of beauty we can only find in the struggle of life.

Accept the struggle. Embrace it. Wrestle with it if you have to and understand that some days, it will win. Never let it beat you. Pick yourself back up and do what you need to do. On occasion, take a look back…admire the beauty you now see before you and know you never could become who you are without whatever tried to break you.

Michelle A. Homme 2016 ©