Saturday, December 10, 2016

Always Something

Life has a way of hitting you with things. Small or large, these hits catch you off guard, throw you off balance, and tip the scales against you. It's a normal part of life. Eventually to be shaken off, rebounded over, recovered from, and your footing regained.



However, for people struggling through crisis, trauma, or illness, these normal sized hits can be very far from normal. When your life is already out of balance, and you're struggling to deal with everything off kilter, even the most minor of hits can be catastrophic.

Think of how in normal circumstances, a cold or flu can affect your work week, routine, or scheduled plans. 

Now imagine your health already being bad, existing daily with a pain level that's barely bearable, and physical or emotional fatigue that's truly a minute to minute battle. In those circumstances, a minor cold or injury can literally break your already fragile condition. Something so small compounding into something so large it feels, or can actually be, unrecoverable. 

Think of how an unforeseen expense can throw off your budget or change your plans.

Now imagine finances so stretched by medical bills or a literal inability to earn more during to your crisis. Living moment to moment, paycheck to paycheck where even the smallest unforeseen expense can leave you unable to pay for necessities like medicine, food, or electricity. Suddenly what would seem like a minor hit to most, sets you back and buries you so deep you can't even contemplate how to get out of the hole you find yourself in.

It is hard for most people to comprehend how truly debilitating and life-altering these unbalancing hits can be. Most people just know the stagger from a hit as a normal part of life. But, the people struggling for their survival know how hard and far these hits can you knock down.

When you're fighting for your life, your sanity, your health, your heart, and your peace of mind, just one more blow often has the ability to just kill the fight left in you.

And, when your struggle to survive is long term, you have no reserves left to deflect and bounce back from the blows. You are literally, figuratively, emotionally, and physically tapped out.

It is exhausting, stressful, frightening, and spiritually paralyzing. It also can actually be dangerous and life-threatening.


There is no painless, quick or easy way through it. 

We just have to try to breathe brave, cling desperately to what little hope in us is left, and try the best we can to absorb the weight of our additional bruises. Try to hang on, even when you feel your grip weakening.