#8 Leaning In

The dawn of my blog brought a lot of conversations about pain. I didn’t have a major trauma happen to me, but I had just enough going on that I figured it would be interesting to think about the subject. On that particular day, I was in a battle with my old landlord who wanted to swindle me out of a lot of money. They had no right to that money and their tactics were very clearly predatory, so I knew that I was in the right. I just had to prove it. And during my time in the arena, my thoughts reflected the place I was in.

I still really like this idea of leaning into the things we want to be tethered to. To deepen their roots in our hearts. It might not be the funnest thing to do sometimes, but we will look at ourselves with a sense of pride because we did what we ought to. Deep down, we know where we ought to be and what we ought to be up to. We just act like we have no strength to do it. 

And that leads me to something that I must acknowledge: we do need to take some time to acknowledge the bad time that we are having, and to adjust to it. Something in our daily lives needs to shift a little, we just need to find ways to give ourselves a little boost without steering completely off-course. Don’t cancel your time at the gym, but grab yourself an extra protein shake! Don’t splurge on a five-star restaurant, but grab a soda for lunch. Do little things as you are able to help make that bad day a little better. 

Because as much as those things that make up your life’s purpose can be wonderful, they’re still not always stable ground. That job you love can still be tough sometimes. The people you care about might not know how to patch you up. Your purpose is like a fireplace-it keeps you warm and fills you with soft, fuzzy feelings. What you need is a band-aid. You need something to contain the bleeding, maybe even slow it down for a while. Those things are a different category entirely. 

But, to break the analogy, band-aids can become our addictions. A soda on a bad day turns into a soda every day. Then you start a habit that gobbles up your good health, along with your wallet. There needs to be some personal accountability with this. Make sure you keep those extra little oomph’s for only the most rotten of days. This will also keep them potent, as you won’t be as used to your pick-me-up as you would be if you used them daily. 

So make a list of your band-aid’s. Those things that never fail to make you a little less sad when life turns rotten. If you couldn’t tell already, mine is soda. It always reminds me of the country that I proudly call home (I know, it’s a weird association. I’ll tell that story another time.) And then get back to your life’s purpose as you puff up your chest and stride with pride. In due time, your darker times will be nothing more than a memory, one left long behind you. 

So I pray that you find those things to help you get through the bad days. If you are in the middle of a bad time right now, I pray that God grants you the strength to get through it. Nothing is better than making it through, knowing that you held onto the things that you loved, staying the course of your life.

Until Next Time

May Peace be your Guide.