Courageous lives

Every courageous life is lived in the grit and difficulty of existence – David Whyte

Like many kids, I grew up with stories that started with, “Once upon a time…” and ended with, ” … and lived happily ever after.” Excellent, a good cheery start for kids.

But at some point, possibly during adolescence, possibly during second adolescence (aka mid life), you kind of start to realise that somewhere in the ending there really ought to be a mention of the fact that, as well as the happy bit, “Sh*t still happens.”

Sh*t till happens… (and stuff grows!)

Because it does: Things don’t work out; People you love go away, fall ill or have the audacity to die; Your circumstances change in a way you don’t like; You fall in love and sometimes you fall back out again; Dreams come true and then you discover the dream comes with some tedious rubbishy stuff to deal with too…

No rainbow without some rain

So, this quote is nurturing to me because it reminds me that life is amazing and we can blossom into the most wonderful new ways of living and sharing our particular talents. And whilst all that gorgeous stuff is happening, it’s absolutely normal for stuff to hit the fan sometimes, and we manage it as best we can. That’s part of the story, it’s part of the deal. It’s part of life, along with the happiness.

So there’s no need to throw your toys out of the pram if things don’t go your way. Just decide what you can do about it. Keep the faith and carry on, deal with the sh*t and enjoy the happiness 🙂

Oh look, rainbow is right here