You can fall

There are times when we fall from our goals: we overeat when we're supposed to be watching our calories, we miss a day or two of our exercise program, we lose our temper when we are working on practicing patience, we see an old boyfriend/girlfriend and are reminded of the hurt feelings from a break-up long ago. It's easy to berate ourselves for slipping, for not remaining steadfast in our goals, for not doing all we could do that day- and yet, I think the recovery after a fall is one of the most important lessons we can learn in life.

It's not the perfection in our pursuits that makes us who we are today, it's who we are after we fail. It's whether we can pick ourselves up again, whether one fall has us giving up, whether one mistake throws us off track completely. It's the forgiveness that helps us get back on our feet. Forgiving ourselves for not being perfect and loving ourselves, not despite of, but because of our faults, is an achievement worth celebrating. It's when we relish who we are in our entirety that we can truly succeed.

There are days when you feel like you can barely get out of bed. There are days when you can't seem to say anything right. There are days when your pants are too tight and your hair is a mess and you don't have a enough make-up in your bag to cover up all of your flaws and you just want to throw in the towel and crawl back in bed and call in "fat" to work. It's ok. Look in the mirror. See if you can smile. See if your hair looks so bad it's funny. See if your pants are so tight one laugh will pop that button right off. See you- all of you- and realize that you can start again. right. now. See if you can laugh with yourself and at yourself and at the world and what it's given you at this moment. Take a breath. Change your pants. Take a step. And start again. It's the picking ourselves up that defines who we are. Define yourself today.

This is the life.
- a

Comments