The Unexpected

It has been a year unexpected.

Okay, make that several years.

These were, perhaps, not the opportunities one would hope for. Nevertheless, they were opportunities. A year or more of hard rights and sharp lefts, zigzagging through the miasma, learning to adjust. Sure, there were some sweet moments. But sometimes they are overshadowed by the seemingly endless course corrections we have had to make as we learned to accept life on life’s terms and then still find the silver linings in it all.

I wonder…what are you most proud of that you accomplished this past year?

Did you turn some straw into gold? This last year, did you find a silver lining hiding away in some dark rain cloud? Did you pivot when the path twisted and turned? Kept going in spite of the constant adjustments? Did you find the humor in it all at least once? Did you make lemonade once or twice with the unexpected lemons left on the doorstep?

Then give yourself kudos. You are still standing, even if disappointment stole your hope for a hot minute.

You are resilient. That’s something.

A life one loves is possible, even in the face of setbacks and discouragement. Because in the face of obstacles, there is still love to be found. Even if it is the simple love for yourself for still standing bravely when the earth shakes, and lines are crossed, and the unexpected takes its toll on an already weary soul. You did it, my friend.

And that. Is. Something.

And it is The Something that is the foundation, the building blocks, that you build your courage upon. You did it, so now you can do the next thing. And the next. And the next.

The tonic for today, distilled to three simple words: You did it.