by David DeFord

This article is from the Lessons from Nature series. If you would like to submit your articles or ideas for this series, send them to me at ddeford@ordinarypeoplecanwin.com.

I love sunrises and sunsets. I love their beautiful displays of nature’s glory. Their magnificence cannot be adequately captured on film or canvas.

These glorious presentations are made richer and more beautiful when clouds participate in the pageant.

Clouds may bring rain or hail, snow or sleet, tornadoes, hurricanes, or sweet summer showers. Yet their presence as the sun rises and sets provides colorful splendor.

Each of us faces storm clouds in our lives. Some of these trials represent small difficulties —summer showers as it were. Others provide harsh, painful gales that terrify us and make us want to cower for cover in our basements.

These hardships—mild or intense—add beauty and splendor to our lives. Think of the ominous trials and glorious triumphs of Helen Keller, Lance Armstrong, Abraham Lincoln, and Oprah Winfrey. Their struggles add blazing color to their achievements.

The wise use their challenges as springboards to greatness. Others respond to such storms by turning to drink or other ruinous indulgences.

Successfully weathering difficulties requires a cool head and good judgment. We must focus on the solutions not on the problems. Panic, blaming others, and feelings of hopelessness only compound the damaging effects of the storms in our lives.

See your challenges for what they really are— opportunities to add beauty to your life and strength to your character. Napoleon Hill wrote: “The turning point in the lives of those who succeed, usually comes at the moment of some crisis, through which they are introduced to their ‘other selves.’”

I would hate living without challenges. I need the stimulation. Imagine a world without rain.

May your skies be rich with blazing beauty as you triumph over the storm clouds of your lives.

Related Quotes

The faster the pitch the farther the ball will fly when we solidly connect. The more difficult the challenge, the greater the reward for meeting it squarely. David DeFord

The value of a thing lies in the cost of attaining it. David DeFord

Difficult times have helped me to understand better than before how infinitely rich and beautiful life is in every way and that so many things that one goes worrying about are of no importance whatsoever. Isak Dinesen

Victory is sweetest when you've known defeat. Malcolm Forbes

You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it. Margaret Thatcher

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