What happens in the bright moments of your life will bring you great joy and pleasure. Memories that will last your entire life. Unbreakable friendships, eternal moments. These are your treasures, your collection of valuable things to be stored away and appreciated in your quiet moments of reflection.

What happens in the darkness may bring you the opposite; sadness, and pain. But these are the moments of experience, learning, and growth. This is when your soul changes for better or worse. These dark times in your life are information and experience you can use to alter how you view the world. 

Whether or not you become an optimist or a cynic has everything to do with how you feel about the dark times. The optimist knows there will be light again, and can appreciate the darkness for what it is and benefit from it. 

The cynic sees a meaningless cycle of bad things happening, and resents this inevitability. 

When darkness arrives, be an optimist, and have the faith to carry on without a clear end in sight. Don’t let darkness detract from your journey, only allow it to enhance your journey.

This faith that you will eventually come out the other side gives you the ability to be present in the darkness and learn from it. Darkness in your life is a growth period. You are always changed by these times in your life. 

Be aware of the ebb and flow and the changes. Let them move in and out of your life. Grow one day in the darkness, and admire your treasures in the light when it shines upon you. 

Fail at something and feel discouraged - feel the darkness - but then become resilient. Try again. Grow. Then tomorrow watch the waves crash on a beach, and treasure that moment as a well deserved rest from the work of becoming.