My girlfriend has an amazing daughter who is currently in France as a Rotary Exchange Student. She possesses intellect and maturity far older than her 17 years. She writes a blog about her adventures in France. The following post is one that I think you'll enjoy. Think back to your 17th year and consider where you were and what's happened to you along the way. Joelynn's message is spot on and one that many of us older folks need to adopt.
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There is only one idea that I believe in with 100 percent certainty. I view everything else in this world with grounded feet, and a reasonable amount of doubt. But this concept has been following me for a long time, and has helped me through the worst periods of my life. It's the first revelation I had about the world, and I'm happy to have discovered it early in my life. The idea is this: Everything will be ok.
Simple as that. No matter who you are, what you are, or what you believe, I feel this is true for everybody. Every issue or dilemma in a person's life will ultimately resolve itself. In the end, everything will be ok. Maybe something won't work out exactly the way you wanted, but in the end, anything broken will be fixed.
Perhaps I'm naive in my reasoning. Perhaps things can get worse to a point where it's impossible to fix. But I've been through a lot of stuff—terrible, amazing, and every shade of in between. Any night that I've ever laid in bed, my mind processing worrying thoughts, I remember my mantra. "Stop worrying. Go to sleep. Everything will be ok."
Early this week, I was really sad and almost depressed. I felt like I wasn't making friends or progressing in the language. I started to heavily criticize myself on both physical and mental aspects. I developed intense feelings of homesickness. I found out I wouldn't be able to go on a trip with Rotary to Parc Asterix, something I had been looking forward to for awhile. And for reasons unknown to me, my mantra was ceasing to console me.
But after Friday, my "faith" has been completely restored. It was a fantastic day, full of laughing and speaking French with people from school. I didn't feel lost or alone. And I also worked out a plan that allows me to go to Parc Asterix with Rotary, along with some other side trips which I'm very excited for. 😀
So again, in the end, everything will be ok. I'm amazed at how life works itself out. I feel blessed to say that I exist as a human being and that I get the full benefit of the power behind physical life. If any exchange students are reading this—if you're ever feeling down for any reason, try repeating this mantra. It works, but you just have to really believe in it. Let go of your anxiety and worries, and let life take its course. Everything will be ok. Everything will be ok.
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Yes, in the end, everything will be OK. If it's not OK…it's not the end.
