As beautiful as life can be, the reality is that it can get pretty messy sometimes and makes us ask, “Why?” Why is this happening? Why does it have to be so difficult? “Why Me? Why Now? Is it all worth the heartaches and challenges we face? Not everyone has these questions but more often than not, we have all faced some kind of hardship or challenge that really has us questioning everything, especially lately.

Life isn’t a straight line, it’s a cycle. It is a constant up and down of emotions. There are highs that lift us up and lows that (sometimes) break us open. And as much as we’d love to skip the hard parts, those darker moments are often what shape us the most. This is especially difficult for someone who doesn’t really have faith or believe in a “bigger picture,” to comprehend or accept the obstacles they are faced with. Personally, I find it the best way to cope with the chaos of life, to believe that everything has meaning and a purpose, even when it doesn’t make sense or hurts so much. And then of course, there are moments in life when catastrophic things happen, that are just inexplicable and for that I really don’t have answers.

From personal experience, I’ll never forget the time in my life when my mother was dying of cancer. It was, without question, one of the hardest things, if not the hardest, I’ve ever faced, yet also one of the most profound. It cracked me open in ways I didn’t expect, especially years later.

During that time in my life, my family became closer than ever. Every day felt fragile and sacred at the same time. When the moment came for my mom to take her last breath, we were all there surrounding her with love, holding space as she transitioned into another realm. It was heartbreaking, but it was also a privilege. A moment of grace inside the grief.

The lessons my mother taught my family and I through her strength, courage, and quiet resilience have stayed with me for life. Her journey reminded me that none of us are here forever and that’s exactly why how we live matters and what legacy we leave to our children and to others.

We can’t always control what happens to us, but we can choose how we respond to it. That choice is where our power and our peace, really begin. It is in the choices we make on how we live our lives that leave a lasting impact, whether for good or for bad.

My personal belief is that we did not incarnate here on Earth simply to live a mediocre life and just work, eat, pay bills, and repeat, day in and day. If we are not doing something that brings us joy or makes a difference in our lives or in the lives of others, then what are we even doing here?

Life Isn’t Meant to Be Smooth Sailing

Life is a constant see-saw of good times and bad times. A yin-yang of cyclical moments. And sometimes when things are going really well, or we get a little too comfortable or complacent, life has a funny way of humbling us. Just when we think we’ve got everything under control, something happens that throws us off course, for example, a plan falls apart, someone disappoints us, or we hit an unexpected roadblock.

The truth is, life will always come with ups and downs. Joy and heartbreak. Clarity and confusion. We don’t get to skip the hard parts, but we do get to decide how we respond to them. That’s where the real growth happens.

Every day, we’re tested in small ways. The red light that makes you late for work, the flat tire, the canceled meeting. All those moments that make you sigh and roll your eyes. But what if they’re not just inconveniences? What if they’re small moments of protection or divine timing? Maybe that red light kept you from crossing paths with an accident. Maybe that delay gave you space to avoid something you weren’t meant to walk into.

Even the bigger challenges like the broken foot that sidelines you, the illness that slows you down, the heartbreak that cracks you open might hold something deeper for you that you still have not addressed (perhaps from an emotional perspective.) Sometimes the Universe has to hit the brakes for us when we won’t do it ourselves. Maybe that injury is a reminder to rest, to appreciate your health, or to reconnect with gratitude for the simple things.

It’s not always easy to see the lesson in the moment. Pain rarely feels like purpose while we’re in it. But over time, those moments shape us. They build real strength, compassion, and faith, not the easy, picture-perfect kind, but the kind you earn by getting through things you never thought you could. Like facing cancer and somehow finding the courage to keep going or losing someone you love and learning how to breathe again anyway.

Life has this strange way of toughening us up while also softening our hearts. We become stronger, but also more understanding, more aware, a little wiser than before.

No matter how positive or mindful we try to be, life will always have its lessons and obstacles. That’s not failure that’s being human. The goal isn’t to control every outcome, but to stay open through it all because when we stop fighting the ups and downs and start flowing with them, we realize something powerful: every challenge, every detour, every “why me?” moment might just be leading us somewhere we’re meant to go.

The real spiritual journey isn’t all peace signs and good vibes. It’s messy. It’s losing things and people you thought you couldn’t live without…and somehow finding a deeper kind of love through the pain. It’s learning to sit in both the chaos and the calm and still choose compassion anyway.

So, if it feels like everything’s falling apart, it doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong, it means you’re evolving. Sometimes life has to shake things up so we can see what’s real and what’s just been placed on us by the world. It’s part of our own evolution and growth, a way to shed all those old layers and get back to who we truly are, who we were born to be.

When people talk about a “spiritual awakening,” it’s not always about religion. It is about learning who we are authentically and learning to live in our truth and power, not in who and what we were conditioned to believe. It’s more about waking up to your authentic self and learning who you are underneath all the expectations and choosing to live in a way that helps you to become the best version of YOU!

And when you make it through, you’ll find a peace that doesn’t disappear when life gets hard, or a love that doesn’t need to be proven, and a self that no longer crumbles under pressure. You won’t need that approval from others. You will just learn to be you and love yourself as you are, flaws and all. The hard times and challenges aren’t your enemy; they are your gateway to light.

In the end, obstacles are part of the human experience. They’re not there to destroy us, but to wake us up and help us grow as human beings. Every challenge gives us a chance to choose whether to spiral into chaos or to turn toward the light that’s trying to be revealed through it.

If I can give you one takeaway in this article it is this: “Obstacles are necessary. They either become agents of chaos or opportunities for enlightenment. How we respond is the key.” ~LR

Life will always throw obstacles our way, some small, and some that knock the wind out of us. We don’t get to choose when they come, but we do get to decide what we do with them. That’s where growth happens, in the space between resistance and acceptance. That is where our true power lies.