Everyday Life, A Constant Battle

Life has many battles we must fight; in the end we emerge as much better individuals.

I always remember the inspirational quote by Lou Houltz that says: “Life is ten percent of what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to.” I honestly can not emphasize the blatant truth to those meaningful words. My life a long with everyone’s I’m sure is a cycle. We experience our glory times, the times when we are happy and all the aspects of our lives from the simplest to the most complex just seem to neatly row together, falling into place in a very fashionable, meticulous manner. We just feel like we have diligently climbed the mountain in our lives and are majestically standing on the mountains peak, looking so elegant and our feet being cemented so heavily that the mountain itself seems to struggle carrying not only our mere flesh and physicality that are very stern being amplified by our great spirit, but also our anchoring morale, that is spewing out intensity adding on even more pressure. We’re untouchable for a few moments, we can see ourselves sailing the mightiest oceans and valiantly battling the gravest of wars, and then life comes in with it’s realistic hands and conniving smile to spontaneously swipe the flimsy rug from underneath our feet, with a forceful slap of reality slashing us directly in the face.

It’s hard. It’s strenuous and it really is bothersome. One never knows what unpredictable curve ball life clenches within it’s eager palms that it can manically spiral at us within any instant. We’re going to strike out sometimes, and the ball may even hit us and knock us down to an embarrassing defeat, but that’s okay. That’s what the quote above means. Getting knocked down in life is inevitable, we can’t surpass the fact that we will struggle, we can’t negate our confidence taking a blow, but we can get back up. We can emerge as stronger beings and throw our own pitches right back at life and become more determined individuals. Getting knocked down is no shame, it is only shameful when we refuse to lift ourselves back up and go in for another round. When life strikes you, attack it back ten times harder with the force of a starving being who is lusting for a meal. When life throws that punch don’t be afraid to throw up your arm to block; you have knowledge and experience within you to help you endure life’s battles, so use it. Use it to counter life and to progress yourself. When life pushes you into a pit, climb out and advance your approach and tactics to continue living, to continue fighting, and most important, to continue smiling and remaining happy.

Use your experiences and gain even more experiences. Do not quit. Each and every single one of us has struggles in our lives that we are trying to conquer. I know what it’s like to feel as if we are at our whits ends, feeling like we are a kettle about to burst into a million pieces that is being scorched underneath by a fierce flame of a mighty fire. I know how difficult it is to crack a smile when our difficulties are just taking the smile away. I know how hard it is to stay strong for others when I feel my mind overloading with the agonizing pressure of my anxieties. We all do. We all can pull through as well. Life is a never ending cycle filled with all sorts of mind consuming battles, but that doesn’t mean we give up. It doesn’t mean we throw in the towel and subdue ourselves to being a failure or being one who becomes too weak to rise. When you fall, get back up and gracefully brush the dirt off of your shoulders and smile. Commend yourself on your strength and diligence and continue to work through your difficult obstacles. We spend to much time degrading ourselves and not enough time giving ourselves a pat on the back for the positive steps we take and that is not a good way to be. If we do not appreciate the strength and knowledge we already have or we experience, we will never grow as people. Balance things out and obtain the riches experience in life has to offer. It’s not easy, but in the same sense it’s not impossible. The great aspect about a tough struggle in life is that from it our true strength radiantly shows itself. We all have the heart of a lion within us, we just have to be brave enough to awaken it.