Hurdles of Life

Hurdles of Life

I was never a great athlete.

When it was time to do hurdles - I cringed!

I was afraid...

 I couldn't do it

 I would fall flat on my face

Everyone was watching me

That I would look stupid

I might actually do okay.

Back then....

I was able to do it

I DID fall flat on my face

Everyone WAS watching me

I definitely looked stupid

I really did do okay!

Now....

Life still seems like those school hurdles.

I still feel like I can't do it

I still fall flat on my face

I still have people watching me

I still have moments that I look stupid

I am still actually doing okay.

The hurdles of life as an adult....

Some days I am able to do it - 

Some days I am not capable of coherent thought!

Some days, it still hurts when I fail and fall flat on my face!

I know that I am Still being watched - 

both by those who want my success

and 

by those who want me to continue to fail

The hurdles of life still makes me feel stupid

 but then I resolve to learn and choose a

smart path - a smarter attitude.

Attitude goes hand in hand with hurdles.

It's not always what is going on that breaks you down

it is mostly how you approach the hurdle.

If you approach a life hurdle 

expecting that you can't - then you won't

expecting that you'll fall flat on your face - you will

expecting that people are waiting for your failure 

you won't expect them to want your success!

If you approach a life hurdle

thinking that whatever you do will be stupid 

you will not try to learn how to act and believe smarter.

If you approach a life hurdle

Expecting that you're going to do okay

You'll slowly see the hurdles of life

melting away.

Yes, there are going to be bad days.

There are going to be very sad and mad days.

There are going to be bruises and bumps along the way.

You can't expect every day to be without a struggle.

What you CAN Do?

Get back up and keep trying!

BELIEVE!!

I love this video!!

https://youtu.be/g-jwWYX7Jlo?si=L9P8Kuc7T9C02K8L

Untangled Life

Untangled Life

Christmas has come and gone.

It was time to take down the outside lights while it was not frigid!

I took each one and laid them in a bundle on the garage floor.

It was getting colder as evening grew, so I moved everything inside.

We've always bound the lights end to end

and then wrap the bundle around with the cord and connect plugs.

So neat and tidy!

When wrapping the lights - it gets hard

when you are holding 50 in your hand

and not letting go so that you can wrap them.

Holding on so tightly

making sure you don't let go -

made me think of 'holding on' in life. 

I had quite a pile when I was done wrapping them.

While I was wrapping them up

the thoughts continued to grow

about life and about writing this blog post.

During this time as my hands got tired,

I thought about how the lights can reflect life.

There are bright bulbs, dim bulbs

and even broken ones.

How in life does this relate?

We all have parts of our lives that keep us 'bright',

We all have parts of our lives that make us go 'dim'

We all have parts that especially make us feel 'broken'

Many string lights go out when a bulb is burned out 

or even when it gets broken - the whole string won't work.

Life is like this.....sometimes we feel like quitting

sometimes we feel that our light has gone down

maybe even almost extinguished.

We tend to feel 'tangled'

I had a longer string that took longer to work with
It was a mess!
Twisted, tangled, interwoven and knotted.

How often do these words describe our feelings?

In reference to the Christmas lights outside - 

when everything is plugged in and working - 

it looks very pretty!
Sometimes, even when there is a dim, broken or burned out light
you would never know this if you were looking from a distance.
Life is like this as well.

As I worked to untangle the lights - 

I thought about the things that are 'tangled' in my life right now.

Much of what is going on isn't as easy as finding a knot 

and working it out until it's a straight line again.

Frustration sets in at moments as well.

I don't want to live a tangled life -

I don't want to live a dim life - 
I don't want to live a broken life -

I don't want to live a dark life - 
I want to live an
Untangled Life!

I want my light to shine out to others

I want to be their light when theirs has dimmed.
I love seeing that spark that comes when someone knows you believe in them.
I love seeing the smile when you encourage another.

Living an untangled life takes effort
Living an untangled life takes heart
Living an untangled life takes time

Effort - Heart - Time
All three elements allow you to live
the
Untangled Life!