The meaning behind "hidden treasures"

Recently I worked a Risk and Domestic Violence Conference for the grants I work for as a graduate assistant at NAU, The National Domestic Violence Fatality Review Initiative (NDVFRI) and Fatality Review and Safety Audits (FRASA). I met an amazing woman, Lynn. She is a recently divorced mother of four, with three triplets (all girls). As we were working and swapping life stories, the discussion of how we were raised came up. She told me that every night when she puts her three daughters and one son to bed, she whispers to them their "hidden treasure." This treasure is something none of the children can share with each other- it is between them and their mom... their own little secret. And each child has a different treasure each night. It is always something positive, something uplifting. For instance, it could be that they shared their toys with another kid at school and that their hidden treasure is that of giving, and that they are generous. Something so simple in life can make a world of impact.

So this got me thinking, am I as positive as a person as I could be? Am I taking something simple and applying it to the big kahuna we call life? The answer is no. I can always do better. There is no other way to get through life, though. Lately, I have been faced with a lot of bumpy days. And I tend to become selfish when these things happen and only focus on my problems and how I'm feeling. Instead, I need to think of the big picture; I'm not the ONLY person who has their down moments... It could be WAY worse! My mom has always told me when going through struggles "every morning think of three things you are grateful for." We tend to lose sight of the good and the positivity when complications come out way, or when life throws us a curve ball.

I've noticed that although my days still suck sometimes, I'm at least not thinking of myself anymore; I'm thinking of my family, my amazing support system, my education, and my faith. I know, I know... still a lot of "mys," which I am definitely going to start working on. What's the point of getting down on ourselves? Life is TOO SHORT to sit here and say "tomorrow I will do this..." or "things will get better in time." This may be true, but only if God gives us that time. What if God's plan isn't to grant us that time? We need to make the changes now. We need to be grateful now. We need to improve ourselves now. Yeah, yeah, yeah this sounds so cheesy- but let's make it happen.