Let's face it - life can be unfair. Most of us can relate to traumatic events that latch onto our bodies as stress and pain, even if we think we have dealt with them in the moment. Often times, this sinks us into a belief that we are weaker, less than, or victims, which shapes our reality into one of unwanted fear and shame.

 

When I was 24 years old, I was diagnosed with HIV and was brought into a reality of believing my life was not worth that of "normal" people. Over the first year of the diagnosis, I struggled with depression, suicidal ideation, shame, social stigma, and a weakened spirit. People could sense that I was off balance. Many family and friends were concerned, and the new people I attracted in my life were fearful and harsh towards me. At the darkest moments of this time, I had a plan to end it all, but that night I was struck with a new perspective -

 

I could choose to play victim to the event, OR I could choose a new paradigm in which the event transformed me into everything I wanted to be.

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I was looking at the event as my biggest struggle instead of seeing it as my ultimate saving grace and teacher. Every event we are put through has negative and positive outcomes, even the ones that are the most painful. HIV gave me the courage to enter new depths of empathy and understanding for the human condition. It forced me to look inside and see my strengths and natural gifts of love and perseverance, and enhanced my ability to connect to other people and communicate my needs. I was able to set healthy boundaries and not take my life for granted.

 

Ultimately, it was up to me to find empowerment and purpose, but I had to be willing to walk through the storm to find exactly what I was capable of.

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Perspective shapes how we interact with our reality. Choosing to seek out the silver linings keeps us in the empowered curiosity state of mind, which keeps us moving forward in life. 

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What lessons are we learning from our heavy life events? How does this fit into a bigger life purpose of positivity and fortitude? Are you willing to release the past and enter a new state of empowerment?