Life does not have a playbook, nor does it have a happiness guarantee. In fact shit happens every day. Being a victim to our setbacks, failures, and misfortunes may be all the rage, but I challenge you to enter a new word into your vocabulary: shitacular.

Two things can be true at the same time; such is life. It is filled with shit, but absolutely spectacular. You may have received a better hand or a shittier hand than the person next to you, but rest assured everyone gets dealt a bad beat at some point. The blessing is the opportunity to stay at the table and play another round.

If you are still breathing, you are a survivor of something. Let that sink in. You have been faced with tribulations over and over again, and you are still standing. You were strong and resilient enough to keep waking up and facing the next day.

Suffering has a way of stripping away the noise and all of the shit that doesn’t really matter. It has a way of breaking us down to our most precious element: love. We realize that the love we have for ourselves, the people surrounding us, and the world we are blessed to inhabit are the important things that deserve our attention.

With every sunrise and glowing moon, I am reminded that each day is a gift regardless of what distress we have had to endure. Each day is filled with time. Time to make different choices. Time to make new connections and strengthen old ones. Time to learn something you didn’t know yesterday. Time to appreciate the little things you take for granted. Time to soak in the spectacular all around you.

So keep your eyes on the sun and hope in your heart friends. This shitacular life only happens once and if you are not careful you might just miss it.