The Lord (known by many names throughout many traditions) has blessed us in amazing ways, and yet, we often can’t seem to escape our troubles, the issues confronting our lives. In a way, our troubles can be an opportunity and a type of blessing, as Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” But how can we come to see it that way? We each will have our own interpretation of this, but my tact is to see that the problems that keep us in a sense of anxiety and discomfort can call on us to transcend. Yes, to sometimes transcend the problem by helping to resolve it, but especially by allowing the thoughts that hound us to remind us of the greater space of peace within. The toughness of a situation can help remind us in our mourning or desperation of the spaciousness of what we are, the light of God that Christ describes us as. Sometimes it’s only through grief and our mourning that we find that the peace of heaven within is beckoning us toward a greater acceptance of the Prince of Peace, the God known throughout cultures at the heart of our experience.