The Darrel-Araba Blog

Privilege is one of the most overlooked realities of life. It often comes quietly, wrapped in comfort, and for that very reason, it dulls our awareness. Comfort has a way of shutting our senses making us less able to recognize, appreciate, or even notice the blessings we carry. Many of the things we now take for granted were once sources of worry, prayer, or effort. Yet once comfort arrives, our minds shift away from gratitude. Privilege exists regardless of our emotional state; whether we are happy or hurting, hopeful or bitter. Somehow, in every season, there is always a measure of advantage or ease present. The ability to do certain things without stress or strain can slowly make us believe that such ease is normal, that we are entitled to it. But this is a dangerous illusion. Comfort and privilege are not entitlements; they are blessings. Admittedly, for some people, privilege and comfort act as zeal, enablers, and strong motivators. In many cases, they facilitate productivity and ...

Growth is a word that permeates our daily lives, often without us pausing to recognize its presence. It is not merely a concept reserved for monumental milestones or dramatic transformations — it is a continuous, quiet force that moves us from one version of ourselves to the next. You need not take enormous strides to have grown. Every small shift, every subtle change, is evidence of progress. A Personal Reflection When my co-writer and I first launched this blog, we were eighteen years old. Today, we are older; chasing ambitious goals, finding our footing in pursuits we are passionate about, and navigating a world far more complex than the one we knew then.  That distance between who we were and who we are becoming is growth in its truest form. Growth arrives rapidly and in ways we often do not anticipate. It is biological, personal, cognitive, professional, emotional, social, financial, and spiritual. It does not always announce itself. I have personally lost track of several ins...