Standing Back Up Again
Thinking of the old Japanese proverb saying “fall down seven times, stand up eight”. And I would say that is pretty much on par for my life. Sometimes it’s a stumble, sometimes a full out fall. Sometimes I sit on the ground for a while and sometimes it’s an accomplishment to make it back to my knees. But I find a way to get back up.
So many times in life people want to judge why you stumble or why you fall. Some want to question why you can’t just get back up when you’re just sitting on the ground. Some say if you can get to your knees, then why can you just stand up? And as one person who has ridden the emotional roller coaster of stumbling and falling down and struggling to get back up, there isn’t any one answer to meet all the feelings going on inside. And while I believe the thoughts we have running in our mind can help make that leap back up easier, it’s not always a choice.
I offer other thoughts to it all.
Maybe the stumble or fall to the ground is really a blessing. I mean for some people, to hit the ground hard or the bottom hard, it’s the wake-up call needed for that situation. For some, you just need a little time sitting on the ground to sort it out, feel it out (yes, I said feel it out – cry, yell, forgive … - feel it out) and/ or figure out a way back. So if you stumble or fall, you’re not the only one. It happens to everyone at some point in life – some may be good at hiding it or making life seem rainbows and unicorns – but it happens to everyone.
Maybe the fall and getting back to just your knees is where you need to spend a little time. You may need a little time to find your spirit. You may need to spend time with your spiritual guide, a friend, your god, or God. Recently there was a catastrophe and while many of the efforts to restore are things such as clothes, food, bedding. I saw the Salvation Army spokesperson indicate they do provide food and clothing but their most important contribution is to tend to the spirit of those going through the catastrophe. It hit home, we can only rise to our knees because we may need spiritual support to help us rise back to our feet. So give yourself permission to say yes to time on your knees to find your spirit.
And maybe, just maybe, we are given these cycles to remind us we are human. Not perfect, not robots and not done yet. We don’t have to be perfect but fully accept and love our imperfect selves. We are not robots who have to shut off the roller coaster of emotions because it makes others uncomfortable. We are not done yet because we have more to learn, more to grow and more to feel.
So the next time you stumble and fall or can only rise to your knee, think of it as a gift. You’ve just received the gift of time. You’ve just been given a gift of being able to see there is good in a challenge in situation. You now have the gift of learning and feeling. And then you can get back up and conquer the world! ~ChaCha
