This coin is different. There are many challenge coins out there. They generally commemorate a military group or event. For this reason, they are generally considered a keepsake, although often a highly prized one.

This coin is intended to issue a challenge to its owner. The challenge is to look for beauty and find happiness when life is getting you down. The challenge is to turn despair into happiness every time you touch the coin and remember to use the technique of looking for beauty to find happiness.

The +1 on the front of the coin is the challenge to make it through one more day. Take it one day at a time to avoid being overwhelmed by an uncertain future. I recently heard of a British soldier that was in a Japanese prison labor camp in World War II. This camp was building the Burma railway made famous by the movie “The Bridge over the River Kwai.” Obviously, the conditions were bleak because of malnutrition and the jungle heat, but the prisoners were also routinely beaten. This soldier made a habit of saying every morning, “I will make it through today.” We know that this was successful, because he survived and his relatives are still telling the story.

So if things are looking bleak, remember the story and make a pact with yourself to make it through today. Tomorrow will provide other challenges and rewards, but just focus on today for now. Today is all you have.

Yesterday is gone and cannot be changed. Tomorrow is out of reach. Just make it through today. Maybe one day, people will still be telling the story of how you got through difficult times – one day at a time.