Go Ahead and Look Back

"Don't look back"

                    "Focus on what's ahead"

                                     "Keep your eyes on what's in front of you"

... all good and motivational quotes, but I am here to tell you.... You should stop and look back. 

A few years ago, I was very heavy and out of shape (I still am, but it was worse then). A good friend invited me walk with her around her neighborhood. Her neighborhood was in a rural area, where the roads were winding and full of small hills. Still, I agreed to walk with her. I love challenges and I loved having a supportive friend. We started out at a good pace, on a mostly level road. We had walked about a half of a mile and then we turned onto a road that was a steady climb upward. 

I thought I was dying. With every step I lost another breath. I was leaving a trail of sweat behind me. My clothes looked as if I had just been caught in a rain storm.  My calves were aching and my feet were on fire. I was so close to telling her that I couldn't go on any longer... as soon as I can catch a breath again, I'm telling her that I'm turning around. It was about that time that she stopped and told me to stop there. I was confused, but happy to oblige and I needed a break.

She said, "Turn around. Look back to where we started."

I turned and looked back at the long road behind us. The slow decline back to the level road that lead back to her house. We had climbed the majority of the hill and were near the top already. 

She said, "Look how far you've come already. And we're only half way there! See... you can do this."

A moment ago, I was ready to give up, to give in, and throw in the metaphorical towel. (If I had had a towel, it would have been drenched with sweat, I can tell you that for certain.) But, her words, and the view before me gave me a new surge of energy and a sense of accomplishment.  And I wasn't even done yet! 

I kept that moment in my heart and I have kept that in practice. When I feel like I can't go on, when I feel like giving up, or giving in... I look back.

I look back to where I started. 

I look at the struggles I went through. 

I look at the battles I fought and won. 

I look at the places where I fell on my face and stood back up.

I look at the battles I'd lost and the new path they set me upon. 

And I look at how far back in the past they are, and where I stand today. 

Then I feel renewed. I feel better. 

Look at what I've accomplished. 

Look at what I've overcome. 

Look how far I've come. 

That's when I say... I can't give up now. I'm almost there. I'm ready to climb again. I'm ready to fight for my dreams. I'm ready for this. It's Game Time... LET'S DO THIS!!! 

So, I am here to tell you... It's okay to look back. 

In fact, you should take the time to look back. Just don't dwell there. 

Look back at what you've overcome already, and use that as fuel to continue on. 

Don't give up until you Look Back at what you've accomplished. 

As Joe Dirt said, "You gotta keep on, keepin' on." 

 

The Magic of Christmas

Like many people this time of year, I immerse myself in Christmas. My tree and decorations are brought out the day after Thanksgiving. I start watching Christmas movies and I integrate Christmas music into my shuffle. I love Christmas. Many people do.

It's a 'magical time of year' they say, when people are charitable, forgiving, and kind. A time when people display good will towards their fellow man. A time when people look each other in the eye and greet each other. But why does it only happen this time of year?  I think I know the answer.

Any other time of year, if I want to hear a positive song about Jesus, or God, I have to tune to the Christian radio stations. There are many movies about being positive, helpful, and kind. But those types of movies aren't always filling up my television channels. In the non-magical time of year, if a grouch came into town to try to ruin a celebration, there would not be a redemption story for him or her. The story's protagonist would overcome and succeed and that grouchy antagonist would be taken care of, and be taken out of the story, or painted as a loser and exiled. But during Christmastime, he or she is brought in, and saved from their grouchiness.

The evolution of Christmas is extremely interesting, and the History Channel does a fantastic job of explaining it. I highly suggest playing around on their website and learning about Christmas's origins. They even break it down to show the origins of each part of Christmas; the trees, carols, Rudolph, Santa, etc. Click Here--> History of Christmas <--to go to their site.

During Christmas, we honor St. Nicholas... good ol' Saint Nick. Nowadays, we have a very different idea of what he looks like, from what he would have actually looked like. He was a real dude. Saint Nicholas of Myra was a Christian monk who lived in the 3rd Century A.D. He is the patron saint of children, as well as sailors, wolves, pawnbrokers, and others. One of the many folk legends that surround him is that he donated money to a father who had been in such dire straits that he had had to sell his daughters into slavery. As years passed and the folk legends spread into Europe, his stories was twisted into more grandiose tales.  The language of the Netherlands turned his name to Sinterklaas, and his tale became one of a man, dressed in red clerics, who arrived every December 6th, to bring gifts or coal-lumps to children's homes.

December has always been a celebrated month, long before Mary, Jesus' mother, was ever a spark of a thought in her mothers' mind. The winter solstice was viewed as a celebration of death and rebirth, since the cold harsh winter weather kills off the crops and vegetation, but welcomes in the spring and the rebirth of life. After the shortest winter days, they celebrated the return of the Sun. As time passed and the Christian faith spread, Pope Julius I adopted December 25 as a Christian celebration in an attempt to adapt and sort of absorb the pagan celebrations. This was a way of increasing the popularity of the Christmas celebrations.

Christmas had fallen by the wayside, however, for many of the 17th and 18th century Americans. But it made a comeback in the 19th century when an author, Charles Dickens, wrote a book about the importance of charity and goodwill toward humankind called A Christmas Carol. The book gained in popularity and so did the holiday.

Speaking of carols, some of the songs that we sing today have been sung for centuries. The whole tradition really started with Latin hymns, which progressed to music for nativity plays, and continued on. Many carols are about winter, or secular themes, but there are a great number of carols that are centered around the story of Jesus. The truth can be said that all carols carry a message of positivity, hope, happiness, and love. And this is the time of year that these songs are played on the most popular radio stations, pumped through the stores P.A. systems, and featured in commercials and movies.

So, my unqualified opinion is that the magic of Christmas lies in the fact that this is the only time of year that America, as a whole, listens to songs about Jesus, and sings along.  This is the time of year that America, and the world, watch movies that remind us to be positive, kind, and generous. This is the time of year that the world is reminded continuously of a little baby boy was born, so that we could live an eternal life in heaven.

Could it be that Christmas is magical because of the spirit within us, comes to life, and our souls rejoice, as we unconsciously worship our Lord as we sing along to...Silent Night? O Holy Night? The First Noel? Do You Hear What I Hear? What Child Is This? Angels We Have Heard On High! Hark, The Harold Angels Sing!

What are your favorite Christmas traditions?

What about your favorite Christmas carol?

Do you have a favorite Christmas movie?

Let Go But Hang On

I awoke the other morning when my heartbeat accelerated and I began to panic. You see, I was having a crazy dream.

I found myself standing near the edge of a huge canyon. It was extremely wide and deep.  In fact, it looked quite similar to Snake River Gorge in Twin Falls, Idaho...  that's the one that Evil Knievel attempted to jump in 1974 without success. Although, I am certain that the one in my dream was much taller, deeper and scarier.

As I gazed out across the canyon, I saw folks on the other side, cheering. They were saying "you can do it, come on". There were a few folks with me on my side of the canyon; but one by one they were grabbing onto a bar, that was hooked to a rope, which was hooked to another rope. I'm telling you that these people were zip-lining across the canyon, with no harnesses, no safety nets. They were just grabbing the bar and hanging on. It was like a handle bar you would see on a kiddie swing set zip-line. Like the handle bar from a bicycle, sliding down a rope. In fact, you know what... I believe Kevin McAllister did just that, across his backyard, in Home Alone.


So it came down to me and another dude who were left standing on our side. He nudged me forward toward the zip-line bar. I freaked out. I turned to run but he put his arm out to stop me.  I dropped to my knees, grasping at the sand and gravel to try to somehow get a tight grip on the earth as I cried out "No, no, I can't, I can't do it."

He knelt beside me, put his hand on my shoulder and gently said "Yes. You can. You need to." It seems as though he knew that if he left before I did, that I would never go. I looked back again at the vast expanse of canyon and the people on the other side who were still cheering for me. I whispered with uncertainty, "no, I can't". So, he got up and went to the edge.  He looked back to me once more... maybe I might change my mind? He grabbed on, and jumped.

I was left alone. Left behind. I inched my way towards the edge. I held my breath as he slide across the rope, until he finally made it to the other side. I was so happy for him and the others. They were supportive, high fiving each other and hugging. Behind me, was nothing but desert. No one around.

I knew that I needed to go. I needed to let go of my fear. My fear was that I would lose my grip, and that I didn't have the strength to hold on... that halfway through I would fall. My fear was that I would fail. There is where I woke from that dream. While I was in that half asleep/half awake state of mind, I tried to process everything that just happened.

A little background info on me: I am an adult college student. I've worked a day job for 18 years, and now I am studying my heart out to try to gain a career. I want to live the remainder of my years living out my passions and loving the work that I do. I am about halfway through with school, and have already started to think about what direction I will go after graduation. Will I succeed?

I am not studying psychology, but I think... I mean... I'm guessing... that the canyon is a symbol somehow. That the other side of the canyon is where success lies for me.  That the zip-line is my track to get there... and I need to let go of my fear of falling (failing) and trust in my strength, trust in my ability to hold on. I need to trust myself.

I am not encouraging zip-lining canyons without a harness, but I am encouraging you to be bigger than your fear. Don't let fear keep you from succeeding.


Let Go...


                ...but Hang On...


                                        ...and you will get there.