Life Lesson #486 ~ Keep Going (Till You Reach The Other Side)

 

There are times in life when nothing goes right. I mean absolutely nothing! For one reason or another everything is out of sync. We might know why, or none of it makes sense at all.  Confusion usually follows. Sadness and depression typically creep in at some point. Anxiety is a given and anger eventually makes its rounds too. So, what comes next? How do we turn things right side up once they’ve flipped upside down? 

I have no idea, to be perfectly honest with you.. There’s no magic answer or trick to it. Sometimes you’ve just gotta go through hell and keep going till you reach the other side. It’s not a simple answer. It's simply the truth.  

Why do I say this? Well, because I’ve spent a lot of time there myself recently. Let me just say it now, it's not fun. Nothing about being out of sync is amusing or a beer and skittles moment. It's downright miserable and uncomfortable really. When life gets all knotted up and the worms are out of the can, things can get complex. The sad part is even if you finally figure out how you got here, most of the time there’s a snag making everything so much more complicated. That's the real problem, isn’t it? How do you untangle all the knots and snags? I don't know about you but as soon as one is sorted out, another one takes its place. And suddenly another mile through hell is tagged on and tallied up. 

Being out of sync is overwhelming, for everyone involved. Alarming in fact. Stress doesn’t even begin to explain the feeling. The trauma and distress of being out of sync with yourself and those you love is frankly disorienting. Assumptions build up. Stories told become reality. And the lies we tell ourselves are now our truth. What’s heartbreaking is none of it makes us happy. We didn’t plan to go down this road. No one was preparing for a trip to hell. Zero forethought was involved. Our ship hit an iceberg and sank, and we all woke up here.. 

So, what can any of us do? Again, I’m not sure. However, I do know continually living out of sync or constantly extending our stay here in the flames of purgatory isn’t productive or constructive. It’s destructive. I guess we have to decide if we’re staying here? Burn up? Fan the flames of anger, hate and misunderstanding? Continue off kilter? I certainly hope not. Seriously, time passes and life changes in the blink of an eye. We can’t go back but we can go forward. And no, I can’t speak for anyone else, but I really hope there’s a light at the end of this tunnel somewhere.   

The reality is I ask myself all the time, should I just give up? Should I stay here, abandon hope and concede defeat? But the answer is no.  I don’t want to give up. I’d like to walk out of this inferno with hope and possibility. I long to heal, not put a Band-Aid on it. We need to rebuild, not renovate.  

So, where do any of us go from here?  I really don’t know where the abyss ends or if it ever does. I guess the question is what’s holding us back?  It’s possible to heal and mend, emotionally, mentally and even physically. But each person has to want a remedy and accept it’s going to take a lot of work and time to get there.

I have to say if I've learned anything the last few years, it's that nothing is indestructible or resistant to splintering or fracturing. Not family, marriage, finances, health or friends are exempt.  Why? Because we’re all broken a little inside. We all fail, make mistakes and fall. Believe me I get it. No one magically fixes what’s broken. It's possible to mend though. Sure, it takes a willingness to forgive, heal and time to restore what’s been lost. Still, it’s possible to meet in the middle, take one small step and leave this prison behind.

 

~Merida