Read This If You’re Struggling To Keep Going

Dear Brave One,

Do you realize, that you have a 100% survival rate?

Do you realize, that there is not a single thing you have not overcome?

If you are still breathing, being, and reading these words,

you are not only a survivor, but a victor.

Every challenging experience life has brought you, you prevailed.

Every bitter dose of medicine God has fed you, you’ve swallowed.

Every time you were wholeheartedly convinced that it was the end and the tiny thread you were hanging on by would surely tear, a new day found you.

You have maintained a 100% success rate at bearing and navigating life,

and so how could you see yourself as anything less than mighty?

When there’s a tale of triumph only you can tell,

adorned with battle scars and earned badges of resilience only you can wear.

Resplendent with grace, here you are.

A survivor

A victor.

A hero.

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My friend recently acknowledged me for surviving every moment of my life up to this present point. I was taken aback, for what appears to be such a simple notion holds tremendous wisdom. Do you know how miraculous it is that you have a 100% survival rate at navigating this gorgeously treacherous rollercoaster we call life? The awareness that you have unfailingly risen to the occasion with every single challenge, with every single grueling and heart-wrenching experience you believed might crush you for good, is first-hand evidence of your immense fortitude. This awareness indeed points towards an underlying, implicit capability and even willingness of the spirit to embrace what comes, to draw upon the infinite inner resources often latent and patiently waiting for an experience to awaken them.

In the typical human condition, pervaded by diseases of comparison, self-doubt, and expectation, it is entirely natural for the voices of the ego mind to criticize the way we show up in life, to be needlessly hard on ourselves, and to overlook our achievements. We all know there is no manual for this being human, for playing the roles, for fulfilling the obligations, for dislodging obstacles, and for managing the many emotional winds that waver us.

So quite frankly, it is enough that you exist, that you are still here, to feel accomplished. 

Let us not undervalue the difficulties in life, when we are all here figuring it out each day in the best way we know how. It is beautiful that your best has always been good enough. That trying your best has brought you here. 

Let’s face it - life is not easy. And while some may have it easier than others, we all run into feelings of defeat, despair, depression, and downright depletion every now and again. Take some time to acknowledge yourself for your strength, grit, and perseverance. For even when the rollercoaster feels nauseating, when there are more loops than you’d prefer or more velocity than you think you can handle. For even when your shouts arise more from agony than rapture, and when you find yourself having had enough and just wishing for the ride to be over - even then - you breathe. You hold steady. You close your eyes and you remember the treasures always awaiting you just upon the hill.

Keep going. Keep being the survivor you are. You don’t even have to try - just continue being you.

The infinitely creative, resourceful, talented you.