adversity

I shut off my phone yesterday. It was necessity; totally liberating, suggested in fact. It opened up my mind for a bit. And I actually sat down and wrote. I filled pages of a blank notebook that had been sitting, staring at me for weeks. Obviously it was necessary for me to get outside my locked up little world for a bit and think about the thoughts constantly racing through my head.
Some might think I was doing it to avoid life, but I did it to live life.

You can make one choice each and every day. Actually, in all reality, we make thousands. Some impact us in tiny, minute ways: how much conditioner to use, which plate to eat off of, etc. Others create much greater ripples, flowing further and deeper than we could have ever imagined.

I woke up this week after a night that definitely could have put me in a major funk, but decided I would not let this bring me down. I was making the choice to be happy. Because you do know it is a choice: you can choose to t\let things get you down, or you can choose to face things head on and say, "BRING IT."

While this would seemingly be a simple decision (hey, imma be happy!), I came to the realization that I can make or break my day by this choice. In our minds we make it complex and obscure and far too difficult. We set up our own obstacles. We put the hurdles up.  We put the limits on ourselves. We may find ways to blame others. That is just a crutch No one can do anything to us or make us do anything we do not want to do. Look in the mirror.

So what if we did not limit ourselves?

To me, I wonder if I put up these barriers, that maybe there isn't a part of me that thinks I can break them down; there is an innate knowledge that that can happen.

So why limit yourself to not be happy? Deep down we all know we have the choice.

What is your happy then?

While it may seem that I am saying this with all the confidence in the world that I do this each and every moment of my life, I can tell you from my own personal experience that I find it an extremely difficult task to accomplish, but it wouldn't be worth it without some level of difficulty. Nothing in life that is worth it comes easily. Trust me I have run into some pretty deep puddles, some high hurdles, some hefty road blocks. All it really means is that my feet get a little wet and I'll have to jump or go around when I am already pretty tired and beat down. Either you can make the adjustments or you can let it slow you down.

I have fallen in the past and thought that maybe it would just be easier to stay down. But really? Is that an option? What is astounding is our abilities as humans to adapt to all ripples and wakes. Whether we choose to or not.

We think at times we are indestructible. At our young, naive states in life, we feel we can do anything and survive. That will never happen to me. We hear of tragedy, or downfalls, and believe it will never happen to us.
Even mistakes occurring in our lives, do we face them? Or do we sweep them under the rug? Turning our backs and a blind eye to the harsh reality that is, and just hoping we do not have to face it. We should not sweep, we should not pretend.
These things, these feelings, are real.

The choices we make during adversity can determine who we are and who we may become, who we choose to be. We can learn from our mistakes.  We can learn from our obstacles, our limits. Sometimes we have got to fall on our butt to get back up. It is the choice to learn. Let us learn to be happy. We are not indestructible. We hurt. And we hurt others in turn. Let's communicate.

Let's believe in each other and all that we are. And let us give reason to believe and to trust in one another.

Pain and suffering are often the catalysts for life's most important and profound lessons, ideas, and accomplishments. We should not be defined by how we act in a good situation, but rather how we respond to adversity, obstacles and trials; the tribulations and the hardships are what shape us. How can we face these head on and move forward? Taking the lessons they teach us in hand, knowing the scars they may leave will act solely as a reminder of how we are stronger for it all. We would not be given anything we were not able to handle.

"Just live every moment and smile as much as you can. Because that is when special folks come along to help you enjoy your life and likewise theirs."

Let's love.