Always Get Back Up...

As some of you know, I work in a daycare. The other day I was in the office and a preschooler was getting some TLC and an ice pack. I looked at her and said "Did you fall down?" She looked up at me, with a sad look, free of tears and nodded her head yes. I gave her an empathetic look. Then I said, "Did you get back up?" She looked back at me, with a keen smile and nodded her head again. I smiled back at her and said, "You know, getting back up is the most important part of falling." She looked at me with such pride.

In my old life, I would fall down and stay down, allowing myself to be walked on, kicked repeatedly and used. I would let life defeat me over and over all the while stuffing my face with whatever I could get my hands on. It was exhausting; mentally, physically and emotionally but I was blind to the lessons that life offered me. One day about three years ago, I decided to try to pick myself up and stay up. I really wanted, and needed, to see what life could offer me.

Something else amazing happened along the way. I gained confidence I never dreamed I could embody. About a year and a half ago, I started going to the gym. I realized I liked it but never really became passionate about it. Last month, when I won a gift certificate for a personal trainer and access to bootcamps and various Martial Arts classes, I had a good feeling. I have started Muay Thai classes and am feeling so recharged, amazing and strong. I find I am living life with such enthusiasm. I feel like my "three-legged stool" of mental, physical and emotional health is built with tree trunks.

I asked my mother if she could have ever imagined me going to any kind of class like that three years ago. She laughed and said "No way!" I have been given my life. I cannot even say I've been given my life back, because I am living better now than I ever have in my 40 years. I avoided any sort of activity that would draw attention to me. I isolated myself so deeply and was developing such a toxic personality that no one, including myself, wanted to be around me. Thankfully, that person is no longer even on my radar.

However, even within the last two and a half years, I have not been able to see things as clearly as I could. I have not always allowed myself to "live life on life's terms." During my conversation with this preschooler the other day, one lesson became blissfully clear. We are going to trip and fall in life. It may be a big fall or it could be a stumble. Regardless, the important thing is to get up and keep moving. When my Toddlers fall down on the playground because they were running too fast or not paying attention, I tell them to get up and shake it off before it hurts. Nine times out of ten they get up, do a little shake and keep going. Every now and then, they cry and need a hug. And that is ok. But they keep going regardless. That is such a valuable lesson and one I remind myself of daily.