Learning to ride

Most of us can remember what it was like to ride a two-wheeled bike for the first time. Our parent runs behind us holding onto us or the seat while we pedal and pedal our hearts out. They run, we pedal, until at some point we realize that we are pedaling on our own and there is no one in back holding us upright. It's a feeling of freedom. It's a feeling of accomplishment. It's a feeling that we can take our parents' support and then move on on our own. It's a time of growing up. 

There are also times in our lives where we have friends and family holding us up through difficulties. We are too sad or too despondent or too distraught to handle whatever it is we are going through.We turn to our friends and our family to help us through, to carry us along, to move us past and over. But eventually we realize that we have gone through a day or a week or a month without reaching out, without asking for help, without leaning on or relying on someone else. Those times are also times of moving on and growing up. We are growing into ourselves; we are growing into our lives.

These difficult times where we feel like we need some help, we shouldn't worry about asking for assistance, we shouldn't beat ourselves up for leaning on others. But at some point we need to remember that our lives are ours to lead; our mistakes are ours to make; our lessons are ours to learn. It can be hard to be on our own, but it can be even harder to never let go. And sometimes we may find that letting go is the best way forward because we learn not just the lessons of our lives, but the resilience in ourselves and the strength we have inside. Being supported is comforting, but walking on our own is freeing. So don't be afraid to ask for help, but don't hold yourself back by never letting go.

After all, this is the life.
-a

Comments

  1. Reminds me of something I read once: Don't tell him your feet ache. Ask him for a foot massage.

    ReplyDelete

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