Why A Blessing In Disguise Is Only A Blessing If You Realize It

We live in a world that is filled with chaos.

People butt heads. Countries and their armies butt heads. Nature -- global warming -- pummels our cities while they do their best to stay afloat.

This is the way of the world. It’s the way it’s always been, and it’s the way it always will be. But this chaos is not enough to destroy us completely.

When stars implode, new ones are born. When countries, cities and buildings are destroyed, new ones spring up.

Life always prevails. Because the purpose of our lives is to continue living. And people have a way of finding the best opportunities in the most chaotic situations.

If you think about all of this from a macro perspective, it’s easy to notice a trend. No matter how big the disaster or how bad things get, there’s always room for creation. This is why blessings often come in disguise.

But what is a blessing if not an opportunity realized and seized? In life, there really are no handouts, so even "blessings" do not come easily.

But this truth should come as a relief. Because no matter how bad things get -- no matter how close you are to falling apart -- there is almost certainly an opportunity to be found.

You need to know where to look.

We usually find blessings in disguise when we are observing chaos from the outside in.

When we aren’t a part of the mess, it’s much easier to understand exactly what’s going on.

Blessings or opportunities are sort of like natural conclusions; they result from chaos that is seeking a resolution.

You need to take a look at the whole system -- whether that's a business, an industry, a relationship or your own life -- and see the big picture.

This isn't easy to do when you're in the middle of everything. Unless you can take a step away from the situation and understand how it's functioning, nothing will happen.

Times of chaos are times of change.

Once you understand the system and what it's given you to work with, it’s time to make predictions.

Where will you be in six months? In a year? In three?

How long will this war continue? How long before you actually let go of the one you loved -- the one who broke your heart -- and move on with your life?

You also have to think about what happens when that time finally comes. How will your life look? How do you WANT it to look? What will happen once this power struggle has ended? Who, then, will be in power?

What if that time never comes? Then what will you do?

Predictions like these are educated guesses. You won’t know for certain how things will turn out, but you can figure out all the most likely outcomes and plan for a few of them.

Once you can predict the state of affairs, you can begin to plan how you’re going to mold and manipulate the world around you to create whatever it is you want to create.

Create a reality that will make you proud.

The only reality that will make you happy is one that is born of your own desires.

The more personal a disaster or misfortune is, the more it affects us. And the closer a tragedy hits to home, the more difficult it is to clear your mind and motivate yourself to find a blessing in disguise.

You need to use your emotions -- what you're thinking and what you're feeling -- to push yourself ahead in life. Understand that chaos can have a purpose. Feed off the energy that chaos gives you.

When you have a clear mind, make your moves. Get to work on finding the blessing that's waiting for you.

It seems almost counterintuitive that the people who have struggled the most also tend to appreciate life the most. But, when you consider the blessings found in tragedy, this isn't such a hard concept to grasp.

People who have been through the wringer are able to appreciate opportunities that come to them. They've been taught that their grasp on life is tenuous and, therefore, worth preserving.

This shift in thinking doesn't come easily. Tragedy tends to strike overnight, but it can be years before hardship makes you a spiritually stronger person.

So if you’re thinking there won’t be work involved, you are greatly mistaken. No matter the opportunity or the blessing, there is work to be done. Always.

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