SOCIAL MEDIA

1/23/12

Life is a participation sport...

Photo From Pinterest
Does it ever feel like you are running in place on a treadmill instead of moving forward?

Do you sometimes feel like you just plain can't move because you are afraid that, whatever choices you make, you will make the wrong one?

Or that there are just so many options in front of you that you are simply overwhelmed by the choices and therefore don't make any choice at all?

Or are you at a place in your life where you are numb - apathetic in regards to everything?

Maybe you get up every day, pretending to be someone you are not, hoping that no one discovers the real you, because you aren't very excited about that person.

I think everyone has been in one of these positions at one time in their life.  The stress of living in any one of these situations is enormous and can seem insurmountable at times - absolutely impossible to overcome.

What I have to say first is that you are not alone.  In fact, you would be surprised at how many people are in the same place you are right now, and just won't let it show behind the shiny veneer they put up.

The second thing I have to say is that in spite of how you are feeling at this moment, you are alive, and that your life is a participation sport.  There are no sidelines.  You are in the middle of the game, whether you want to be or not, and you are a key player - an MVP in fact - in your very own championship game.

Regardless of how you view it, you are actually moving forward each and every day.  You are making progress, becoming the person you were created to be.  You can't stop it from happening, regardless of how hard you try to sit out.

Each person you meet - each situation you find yourself in - changes you.  It has to.  Each second is unique unto itself and can never be reclaimed, and therefore must transform you in some small or great way, for better or worse, just because you lived through it.

Each change brought on by each second you breathe this air means that you are never the same as you were before.

Moving forward.

Changing.

Transforming.

What's more, even though you don't always control the game time or the plays that are called, you do control the way the game is played.  You choose how to respond to the plays - the circumstances - that are happening around you.  You choose to be on the offense or defense, and you choose how the game is won.

Because the game will be won.  No matter what.  And you can't lose, because as long as you are alive, you are winning.

So the question becomes this:  how are you going to choose to play the game?

This second,

this minute,

this hour,

this day,

this week,

this year,

this lifetime?

Because life is a participation sport.

And there are no sidelines.
____________________________

What are you overcoming or have you overcome in your life?  
Leave me a comment and let me know:
Julia said...

Hi there~ I'm new to blogging, but not to art! You have such an amazing style; I was blown away by your bead embroidery project! I was thinking about starting something similar, and you just gave me the inspiration to actually do it!

I signed up to subscribe to your blog; I just started my blog, but I will be focusing on many mediums, including jewelry. I hope that you will find my blog as supportive and inspiring as I did yours :)

Anyhow, to answer your question... I am overcoming a very complicated health situation in my life. Quite literally overnight, I went from being perfectly healthy to being VERY sick; I have a condition that causes me to be in excruciating pain on a constant basis, from the moment I awake until I go to sleep at night. And the worst part is, there is no treatment available for my exact set of conditions! I'm not even thirty, and I'm to the point where my husband and I are going to be purchasing a wheelchair. This condition has touched literally every aspect of my life-- my relationships with people, my marriage, my physical movement, my self-esteem, my career, and my emotional well-being.

As you can imagine, it has been a frustrating and painful time for me, not to mention the challenges I deal with on a daily basis. Even simple "everyday" tasks such as cooking have become difficult. I no longer feel "young"... rather, I feel like a young woman trapped in a much older body. I used to be very active, and now I cannot do all that I used to do.

What has saved me has been my art. I am still working to overcome the challenges posed by my health, but creating works of art has truly helped to keep my spirits up and bring me back to myself. I do what I can each day-- if this means doing knitting instead of a scrapbook, or painting instead of sculpture, or making jewelry instead of sewing, so be it. On the days that I feel better, I do more, it's as simple as that. While I'm going to be facing this health condition for a very long time-- it's never going away, so I'll likely be like this for the rest of my life-- my art has given me a new way to look at things.

I'm sorry for sending such a long message, especially since this is the first time I'm "meeting" you! However, if my story can help even one person out there, then my pain will have a higher purpose.

We have similar blog names (mine is at http://beautifullywhimsical.blogspot.com ) so I look forward to getting to know you better through them. Take care for now <3

My Life Under the Bus said...

Oh I have this feeling often but try to keep myself in check and be grateful for we have so much and so many do not. It's all how you look at it isn't it? XOXO

Brandi Hussey said...

My gosh, it's like you're in my head RIGHT NOW.

I'm in the middle of a transition right now, and it was my choice, so I feel good to have taken an active role in my life like that. Still, though, there are so many things I'm interested in pursuing next that I cannot focus. Little things here and there have helped me make decisions (even something as small as a blogging calendar calms the storm in my mind), but the bigger decisions? I'm waffling. I feel a little directionless.

When those things happen, I simply try to remind myself that it's okay to be where I am right now. I don't need to rush, I don't need to make any decisions that I'm just not ready for.

Thank you for the reminder that I'm not alone!!!

shelly said...

hi,

i find myself at a place in my life that is overwhelming and trying. i write about it in my blog. please take a look.

thanks,
shelly