By Charlotte Kemp

I am not so sure that everything happens for a reason, but I am convinced that we can find some good, some lesson out of everything that happens.

Some days the clouds in our lives bring misery and rain.  Life can throw us some terrible storms sometimes and right in the middle of the deafening thunder, the cold wind, the relentless rain, we feel hopeless and scared.  These are times when our highest hope is shelter, not even comfort or satisfaction – just shelter from storm.

However after the storm has past, we soon forget the fear of that moment.  We can look back and recall that it was unpleasant but our minds are wonderful at deliberately tempering the severity of the experience in our memories.  And we can take a breath and see the beauty of what the storm has left behind.  It has washed away the grime, cleared dead leaves from the trees, and the sun sparkles through the edges of the clouds to show a beautiful silver lining.

In life’s storms, we can experience the fear and anxiety of the storm; a longing for shelter, and some time afterwards, the space to look back and see the beauty and potential in what was left behind.  I know, I promise I know, that it is often painful and unpleasant.  But if we fail to deliberately look for some silver lining, then the experience would have been wasted.

So this is my challenge.  Please share your experiences of finding silver linings in life’s storms.  I would prefer to hear business stories, but anything that demonstrates that you, or someone you know, has been able to find that silver lining in the darkest of clouds, would be a story that could encourage someone else in their darkest time.

Every two months one of the people sharing a story will win a 1/10^th silver mint coin to encourage them in pursuit of that silver lining*.  Let’s encourage each other to look for those silver linings instead of focus on the darkness of the clouds.

*Prize available only to South African subscribers.

By Charlotte Kemp

Sometimes in the midst of our worst experiences we cannot ever imagine a bright future. Our lives are gloomy and dark and under stormy clouds.

Now we could stumble along, one day at a time, hoping for the best, or we could look for that sometime elusive silver lining.

This may be a tough time in your life, and it certainly is a challenging time in the world economy. However, if you don’t actively look for a silver lining, an opportunity to make something good out of what is a bad situation, then all the pain would be wasted.

So what is your silver lining? Have you started a new business from the ruins of a previous one? Have you recovered quickly from one mistake having learned your lessons well? Are your new business relationships so much more valuable that they were before?

Please share your Silver Lining stories with us to encourage each other to keep looking for hope. There is bound to be a silver lining in every cloud, even if you have to pull that lining out of the mud after the storm.