The other side.

Maybe you need this like I do.

My aunt works with families of elderly patients with dementia. It’s a job she was born to do. She loves talking to people. She’s knowledgeable. And she knows what to say, especially when it comes to getting people through difficult times.

Earlier this year, we were on the phone talking about a difficult situation in our own family when she shared with me a phrase she uses frequently in her line of work. It’s a phrase that helps people through what seems like insurmountable odds and offers peace and comfort.

That phrase? “You’re going to get through to the other side of this.”

There are other variations, but the most important part is the last three words: “the other side.”

“Jonny,” she said to me, using the name my family grew up calling me, “there’s always another side. And I always make sure people know that. The other side is waiting, and you wouldn’t believe how effective it is.”

In the wake of some “insurmountable odds” in my own life in the last week, I’ve been meditating on th…