Steps of Life

Category: Personal Development for Adults

Wherever you are and whoever you may be, keep moving forward, learn from every stumble and continue your journey.

How sure is your stride? Do you get back up when you fall?

From the day we are born, we begin to master our first steps. We crawl, pull ourselves up and topple over until we finally walk. Does a child ever consider giving up on standing and learning to walk? A child does not worry about how their crawling, wobbling or falling looks. The child simply carries on. Do you know any healthy adult who still moves about on all fours, goes to work on all fours or heads out for a stroll on all fours? I believe not.

From time to time we all "crawl" through life, because there is no one who does not face challenging moments or feel worn out by life. There is a difference between those who choose to keep crawling and those who choose to rise.

We spend a lifetime learning how to move, first in the physical sense and then in the way we navigate our journey through life. As children we cried when we fell and wore our bruises and scrapes, yet we stood back up and kept going until our footing was sure. Some learned faster, others more slowly, yet that is of little importance.

Why then, when life brings us to our knees, do we even consider not getting up again?

While we were taking spills one after another as we learned to walk, we did not ask ourselves "Why me? Why is this happening to me? Why am I the one who keeps falling?" Yet when a life storm knocks us down, we often ask "Why me?" It happens to everyone in one form or another, and it is a challenge we can meet. We can learn from it and grow. We can become stronger, more skilful, more aware and kinder. We can move through pain, discover love, open to life or develop a new quality we might not have cultivated in any other way.

And so we keep moving through life, exploring and bravely entering the unknown. We grow and begin to see people, ourselves, our circumstances and life itself with new eyes.

We are created to rise and move forward. At times we pause to rest, then we go on again, because that is what it means to live. Standing still brings no joy and slowly drains the life out of us. It may offer brief comfort, yet it does not bring true fulfilment.

So when we find ourselves on our knees, take a deep breath. Acknowledge where you are, yet do not surrender. Brush the dust from your knees, step on and keep growing. Each time you stand up and continue, you are stronger. It may not look that way at first, yet with time, walking in faith and hope, you will reach a harbor of peace, strength and love. You will arrive at a point where you can give thanks for these experiences and understand what they have given you.

We only need to be ready to change and to remain conscious and active participants in our own lives.

Wherever you are and whoever you may be, keep moving forward, learn from every stumble and continue your journey.