There are several hills on the route I take through my neighborhood. If I’m not intentional, my pace will naturally slow down to compensate for the steeper incline. But I've found that if I encourage myself, I remember it's possible to maintain my speed, regardless of the terrain.
Today, as I got to the biggest hill, my new automatic response slowly rose to the surface. A small voice challenged me once again to Charge the hill!
When we get to challenges in life, do we keep going with the same fervor as before? Or do we let ourselves slow down because we could justify doing so?
There are definitely times in life where we need to slow down and adopt a different pace. Concerning obstacles specifically, however, each situation varies and there may or may not be a need to do that. With grief, of course, life will take on a different rhythm, as with other losses and setbacks. But when it’s appropriate, I am encouraging all of us to charge the hill.
Setbacks don’t have to derail us. We can mindfully move forward, asking for the lessons to be revealed to us during this time. We can continue putting one foot in front of the other confidently, victoriously, knowing we will get through this. We can choose to believe and affirm, This will not beat us. And if something completely shifts our paths, we can embrace that too. It will probably be far better than we could’ve asked, dreamed or imagined.
Mindfulness is needed to stay in the present, while goals and dreams are needed to keep hope and passion alive in our spirits. Although being mindful can seem at odds with pondering the future and setting goals, both are vital to our well-being. Mindfulness and forward-thinking can exist in harmony with each other, as long as we remember that most of our time needs to be spent where our feet are.
*I'm including a link to a new interview. Details below.
