So I got thinking... 

<center>The Highs and Lows of life.
The Good and Bad of life.
The Yin and Yang of life.
The In and Out of life.</center>

<center>Pain and Pleasure. 
Abundance and Lack
Bitter and Sweet 
Health and Illness
Happy and Sad
Hot and Cold</center>

You get the drift.

I am someone who loves certainty. I like knowing and I sometimes think it's my way of controlling things around me, so I sometimes let disappointment affect me too deeply than it should.

But slowly I have learned and have begun to expect the other side of comfort in life and that has made a lot of difference. I am stronger. 

I have realized that in the painful lows of life is when we are purged of toxicity and negativity. 

My mother, when you complain of some kind of illness, she may prescribe bitterleaf juice. This juice is as bitter as bitter can be, but usually you see the effect in hours when you begin to feel better. In the bitterness laid the cure.

A friend of mine had a baby, and soon the baby began to stool frequently. Diarrhea. Her mother advised her to chew some basil leaves and breastfeed the baby so he gets the juice from her breast milk. Basil leaves are great for cooking, and usually in measured quantities, but when chewed raw, the juice tastes like a mixture of hot and bitter. My friend wasn't keen on chewing it. But she remembered her son's discomfort and chewed. Her son got well after he suckled.

Many times it is in the dark that we work on the light. Many times. When you are broke, you think more, plan better, many times work harder, bad friends leave you, the wrong partner 'wakes up' etc.

When you are down and in the dark you notice other people's sadness and see human frailty. You understand pain and if you are good, you want to hold someone's hand and pull them out even as you struggle to get up and into the light.

When you are sick and scared of death, you ask yourself deep questions and when death is certain, you find acceptance in the fact that it is a part of life. Soon you find yourself  consoling those you know you will leave behind. 

It's in the dark, with the negatives, that beautiful, colorful pictures are washed and processed. It's in the dark that life is formed, hidden in the womb or buried in the soil.

Just like waves, up and down movements show the strength of water. Strength is increased the more we exercise our hearts with the ups and downs life give us. 

So to you in your low moment, I'll tell you what I tell myself; put your head down, work in silence, pray, and wait for the sun to shine because it will. 

>What don't kill you will make you stronger. 

So, I love certainty, but I have learned to bank on those things which are actually certain; the sun will rise, the dawn will come, the clouds will clear. I try to look forward to these certainties because that's the only way to live.

<center>![yin-and-yang-1947878_1280.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmQYQdjJNiikQ3NWTMaWeLW8iRmzUZMdDz9mKw9N7Q98Bp/yin-and-yang-1947878_1280.jpg)<br>[Pixabay Creative Commons](https://pixabay.com/en/yin-and-yang-fire-water-hand-1947878/)</center>

That's the beauty of life; the contrast of light and darkness, up and down, that's the spice of life.

May our highs last longer and our lows pass faster.

https://steemitimages.com/0x0/https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmfWLpH6PyFKPEkCTfhq4pqJn5QiG8Tev9UTwwWjaBCw17/RAYA%20AZUL.png

<center>***Djoi Writes***</center>
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