Life through the valleys to reach the peaks

Aren't we all in the strangest times? And yet the thing most people are taking away from this pandemic is their faith in humanity restored. I've heard countless people remembering they have neighbours, others being blessed unexpectedly with things they needed most and even more people who experience those small acts of kindness like smiling strangers. Aren't we in the strangest, yet most amazing times? Then why do we still have days that we just don't feel like it?

Here in New Zealand, we've been lucky enough to be able to get back to longer and further walks than those walks just down the driveway to collect the mail. Last weekend I went with friends to Hamilton's Gap (blacksand beach) and unexpectedly, unprepared got pulled into climbing a sand dune. Halfway was easy, after that my breath struggled to keep up and by the third quarter I was crawling on all fours just to keep going.

But when I finally got to the top, the view was worth every aching muscle.

What if we looked at life that way? What if we recognised our valleys and borne every ache to be able to appreciate the view when we got to the top. I'm only saying it because I had a day like that recently. A day I just couldn't find the strength to grin and bear it, but then a combination of my mom and this poem happened:

Photo by Wu Jianxiong on Unsplash

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KNOCKED DOWN

What do you when you just don’t feel like it?

On days when you just don’t care

Those days when it feels like the real you

is not even in there

What do you do when want to stay in bed?

On days you don’t feel like getting up

because you know even if you do

your mind will stay stuck

It’s easy to give in to emotions

To be led by what you feel

but if you look a little closer

those are hardly ever real

Instead look to the world around you

The wonders waiting behind that door

Take a walk, go for a run

You won’t find motivation on the kitchen floor

Take a hike

and make it a good one too

Make younger you proud

because you know that’s what you really wanna do

Don’t stay victim to your own emotions

You can rise above it all

and if you feel like you’re slipping

look again, your Saviour won’t let you fall

Take a breath

and enjoy the fresh air life has given you

Breathe a little deeper

and you’ll start believing in yourself too

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This not only proves that doing what you love (writing in my case) lifts your spirit, but also that everyone has days they have to fight and everyone has days they just don't want to. Let me remind you that everyone is not alone. YOU are not alone. Even in the times we are facing, where people are reaching out more than ever and finding better habits than the ones they used to have, there will be days you just don't feel it. What matters is what you choose to do with that feeling. Let me encourage you to get up and get out there.

What was the longest you've stayed in bed during the lockdown? No shame. No judgement. Let's talk about the moments that make us human.

Be sure to look over in the Rode page of my blog for a short clip of me climbing the sand dune

Climbing the dune at Hamilton's Gap

The view worth it in the end. Credit to Liam Jordaan for the photo because I did not think to take my phone

Different perspective. Same view