The current conception of the ideal is to have the perfect day where you can speak, do, think and act from your highest
Still Standing
potential of who you are. Sounds good to me! We try our best to be patient with situations, tolerate difficult people, go the extra mile to get work accomplished and then from nowhere comes the hit. It can be a phone call that changes your life forever, your company’s paycheck bounces, your company downsizes, your client doesn’t pay, your spouse leaves you a goodbye message via text–no less, or you or someone you love is given a diagnosis that cannot be cured. These curves sometimes come when we are at our happiest or in a position to believe that everything is great. Planning for the future is fine. Making plans for three years from now is terrific and the new house you purchased will be your dream house.
We all live a life as best we can but so many of us, particularly in these trying times and Chinese year of the red fire monkey know that our lives are downright tough. Our jobs don’t pay as well as they once did, some of us now work two or three jobs to survive, the one you love and can’t live without is dying of cancer or Parkinson, your child has a terrible auto accident, the dream house is now in foreclosure and there appears to be no remedy.
There is something transforming about being in hell and then leaving it. Somehow, we do leave it. We are never the same. There is a strange alchemy that takes place in hell. It changes base metal into gold. We have an understanding of life that was never there before. We don’t take things for granted anymore. We don’t talk about the same things anymore in the same way. We have been refined. We have survived and we know somehow we are returning to something that is different and approached from a completely new level. Our eyes have seen the horror and witnessed our own survival. We look at things in a more objective way, we know now that we were never really in control. We know now that we really were players in a scene and that we were actors playing our parts. We have developed wisdom, patience and a sense of just living in the now. The future will be there whether we are in it or not. We stop chasing after worthless activities and we stop worrying about things we can do nothing about and, for the most part, either happen organically or don’t happen at all.
We know we are still standing and we can choose again. “Even though I walk through the valley of death, I will fear no evil”. Keep walking, we were always made to move forward.
The human condition has taught me that nobody is spared. The rich, poor, brilliant and average. All of us suffer at some point in our lives. We grow the most when it we are the most uncomfortable. Thank you for sharing your experiences and for your rise from the ashes of the burnt past.
I experienced that time in 2011. Things couldn’t have got much worse. I split with my partner of nine years, lost my father, my cats and my home and felt the loneliest I’ve ever felt in my life. But looking back I am so grateful for the lessons it taught me. It was like a stripping of the old to start anew – the hell before the heaven could happen. If I could go back I would tell myself that the pain was necessary for my journey, but instead of doing that I tell myself every time I go through suffering that it is part of my learning in this lifetime. There is definitely something transformational about coming out of a dark place and taking the lessons learned to the new. In 2012 I met the love of my life; my cloud did have a silver lining 🙂
Since 2008 I tell people that God made me walk barefoot in the mountains (metafor) for years. This was a painful time of having my life restructured.
Now my spirit is in the 23rd Psalm . Life is still difficult because of retirement and finances. I keep busy volunteering in church and other places.
My joys in simple things are magnified. My wonderful friends that send me beautiful inspirations on Facebook keep me going strong. If I do not know you I love you anyway!
Had lots of upheaval the past 3 years. Didn’t feel like it was going to pass but it did. Staying heart centered now and looking forward to a fabulous future!
Excellant summary and on point. The last two years have put me through the wringer. If anyone had told me I would be where I am at this point in my life I would have probably shot myself. But then is then, and now is now. I survived, I persevered, I follow the bread crumbs and know in my heart I AM “the bounceback kid”!