February 1, 2026 Reflection

Intention: I choose love.

“Don’t let your past or present suffering contaminate your view of the future.”

Sarah Young

Young’s choosing of the word contaminate vividly illustrates her view on human suffering. A contaminant is a toxin that seeps its way in and is overall consuming. The quote suggests that suffering results from looking too often into the life before or focusing too long on persistent struggles. By doing so, our vision is obstructed, preventing us from proceeding forward. Our loved ones have moved on, however, for us who remain, move forward.

Losing a loved one is not the toxin but rather the feelings we juggle in the aftermath. After Jim’s sudden passing, I desperately tried to resuscitate the life we created together, but I was not an us anymore. I was now a me. This realization felt desolate and lonely until through the blessed progression of time, I learned that I was enough. There are times when I think that if we were still together, that we’d dine here tonight, or we'd buy tickets and go there. I no longer wallow, but instead, I am deeply grateful for those cherished memories.

Henry David Thoreau advised to "go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined". I imagined growing old together, but I redesigned my purpose. I carry forward the love we shared, which is enabling me to move forward. Even through the most tragic of losses, we can choose to find a new way. Moving on is like changing career paths or trading in the two-seater convertible for a Chevy Suburban. Within time, there is a possibility of changing our minds again, whereas with loss, we reinvent and discover hope in the detour.

We have purpose and choice and “when you stay on purpose and refuse to be discouraged by fear,” Wayne Dyer wrote, “you align with the infinite self, in which all possibilities exist.” Fear, guilt, and anger are common responses, but they are all indeed toxins that we need to rid ourselves of.

Continue to move forward. Because you are choosing love above all else.

As 2026 continues, I am choosing:

I am choosing love over loss.

I am choosing light over darkness.

I am choosing hope over despair.

I am choosing faith over fear.

I am choosing miracles over coincidence.

StoryLight Transforming Pain Into Purpose Sharon M Wible

February 1, 2026 Reflection

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