So glad to have you alive on this planet, @firepower - your spirit is a great inspiration! You are a solid dude and a true friend, and I look forward to many more dance parties with you~*~

In response to your question, I look back on my biggest challenges in life and am amazed that I survived them; back then, I didn't have the positive outlook and faith that you demonstrate and I was basically hoping to die to be out of my misery. What's super incredible to me is that after years and years of being depressed and carrying that weight like a burden, my perspective changed in a single moment and I understood that it had happened for a reason - to make me into the best version of myself.

Had I not faced those challenges, I was on the path towards resigning myself to a comfortable, complacent, standard, boring life, and in that single moment I realized I could never be fulfilled with an existence like that. I have had incredible lows, but I have also had incredible highs, and I now give thanks for the full spectrum of my life. I am truly grateful for going through enormous pain, because I learned things about myself, about healing, and about helping other people through their own darkness that I likely wouldn't have touched without the challenges I overcame.

It was because of my misery that I turned to yoga, meditation, and Reiki for relief, and I'm so glad I did! For me, they are guaranteed tools not only for overcoming hardships, but for thriving in daily life.

Thank you for sharing updates on your journey to recovery! I think about you often and always send you love and light. I wish you all the best and am happy to share anything I can that may be of service along your path. When you make it to the Garden of Eden, we are going to lavish you with the best we have to offer 💛