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Life is composed mainly of ups and downs and most people tend to either be in a state of complete happiness or dwelling on all that is wrong with their world. The best place to be is right in the middle - content with life, blessed by all that is good, and learning and coping with all that could be better. I once listened to a sermon in which the message was to not dwell in the extremes - if life is just overflowing with greatness enjoy it but do not get so caught up in it that you begin to live like nothing could go wrong and vice versa. This philosophy made so much sense to me. The lows in life are inevitable (as are the highs - being optimistic is essential) and they are even more difficult to cope with when they come right on the heels of an "everything is perfect and nothing can ruin it" moment. If one dwells in that place of content even when life is wonderful, avoiding the temptation to float on cloud nine when life could not be better it seems, then when the "bad" creeps up it will be that much easier to remain in the place of content and not sink into depression or in a series of "everything is wrong and nothing can fix it" moments.

While this philosophy made so much sense, it also made me sad - those extreme happy moments are what makes life worth living. When I'm in those moments, life is perfect, and when life dips into those dreaded low moments it is the memory of past and promise of future happy moments that inevitably gives me the strength to pull through the low moments.

So it seems as if there are two choices in dealing with the ups and downs that make life, well LIFE. One can try to maintain a state of content through and through - enjoying the happy moments and accepting and overcoming the low moments all without allowing the emotions produced to fully take over. Or one could fully embrace all that life sends and understand that today could be wonderful and tomorrow could be the complete opposite, but that in most cases survival is a given. I hear in my head the voice of a good friend saying "I'm surviving" when I ask how he is doing - sometimes that is all we can ask and be greatful for ourselves and friends.

Which path one chooses will be a personal choice but the choice will be influenced by that person's ability to cope with the extremes. Through most of my 25 years of life I have been strong emotionally and capable of getting wrapped up in happy moments and then quickly adjusting to cope with whatever sadness life brought

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