Back in my mind, when our lives were in shades of black and white, I wallow.
The 50's, the 60's, and even the beginning of the 70's when the grays starting showing pastel and the sharper colors of the day redefined photography. My journey had just begun, my bare feet just beginning to form the tougher layers of experience to protect them from the rocks and stubbs of life. Falling down, then, meant learning to push myself away from my father's arms when he caught me halfway down...gradually increasing my strength as his arms allowed me more independence as I grew. I am nostalgic for those days. Yet, I could not wait for those days to be behind me when I lived them. My falls became crashes, with longer and more painful landings, especially once I moved too far for my father's arms to ever reach me again.
There is a lot to be said for "falling down." My folks always told each other that "Sheree always lands on her feet"...not sure what that meant for the longest time, but I know it gave them comfort as they watched me struggle and journey through time. I have begun to believe "attitude is everything." Every single time I fell, I did not rest until I found some way to get back up, brush myself off and continue on my way. Not that getting up was easy. Never was it easy. But it was fulfilling, and my soul always celebrated with joy to be upright and maybe a little soiled, but certainly stronger.
Attitude is everything. It can keep you down, or it can lift you up. It is our choice, and our choice alone. A spirit of rebellion thrown in doesn't hurt, either, when one is on the bottom side of a pile. I think of the stories of Holocaust survivors...the amazing stories of human spirit and strength, both quiet and booming. Down deep in their souls, they were choosing to "land on their feet"... surviving and thriving to tell their stories and the stories of those who didn't have the chance to face the sun again. At great cost, those survivors gained strength and wisdom and learned what it is to cherish the little things.
Attitude is everything. Landing on our feet does not keep us from falling in the first place. It takes such instinct, such experience, and a great deal of flexibility and preparation. As we get older, we learn to anticipate the pot holes, the slippery slopes, the very movements of the earth that once would have taken our feet right out from under us. It is a dance. This is The Dance of Life... our steps chosen with care, and our bodies prepared to balance and flow into the winds, using our world as support and shield all at once.
I share with you the Balance of the World. The good, the bad...the horrible and the sublime. It is a part of our humanity. It just is. With every bad, we see a good that counter balances our footing, and shifts our direction. Dance the journey, folks. Just dance.
