A couple of days ago I wrote about my high school cross country coach’s advice on running hills. It was a basic metaphor. Given how many life lessons there are from running, maybe even one you’ve heard before.
In a nutshell, attack life’s challenges. Dive the fuck in and push your way through. Don’t shy away.
Yesterday, I was reminded of a seeming downside to that approach. Sometimes life attacks back.
I’m not sure why that is. Some annoying cosmic law, maybe? Like the universe needs to maintain balance. Something good happens, something shitty must follow.
While that’s not literally true, there are days when it feels very much like it is. Yesterday was one such day for me.
And you know what? The worst of it isn’t going through something shitty. I mean, that sucks, but it’s not the worst.
The worst is this: when the shittiness is over, a very real part of you doesn’t want to try to make anything good happen … because what’s the point? Something shitty will just balance it out later.
Sometimes that’s exactly what happens. Certainly not always, but there seems to be a rhythm to life. Things ebb and flow. One day you’re Leo at the helm of the Titanic, and the next day you’re Leo freezing to death because apparently that door wasn’t big enough for two people.
I know. Horribly out-dated pop culture reference. The coolness gods will no doubt strike me dead. Or take away all my ‘likes’.
You can’t just throw in the towel because TODAY is hard. Tomorrow may be better. And even if it’s guaranteed that tomorrow’s high will be followed by another low, there will be a high.
That’s what we fight for. The good moments.
Chin up, slugger. And I’m talking to me, too. This week has been a cluster fuck. I can hardly see straight, so I may end up stumbling and staggering toward the next good thing.
But I’ll find it, damn it. You can, too.