- Life Happens- Misfortunes!
Life is not a bed of roses but rather a battle field and journey through rocky roads. We all get hit by merciless storms at different points in time. From death of a loved one, divorce, job loss, accidents to fatal chronic illnesses. These do not only inflict pain but can greatly derail us into inactivity, emotional breakdown, elevate stress levels among other strains. When these happen, we typically lose our willpower for short or long time frames depending on our coping mechanisms.
In April 2018, I recall slipping into almost two (2) months of a depression following the loss of my dad. After mourning with my family, and returning to my house, it finally dawned on me that he was gone, forever! Like many, I didn’t have a formula on how to maneuver the varying waves of emotions that hit me all at once, or process how to carry the laden grief heart break and mixed bag of tension. During this period, all I did was to survive through the days, characterized by little to no eating at all, loss of sleep and cry burst outs. I halted my gym membership for a month or so- life had ceased making any sense! I later crawled out of the sorry state by the grace of God. I eventually found my way back into the gym, worked and sweated out most of my misery. Resuming my workouts actually helped a lot- the gym somehow complimented my prayer closet as an emotional dumping site.
My scenario is just one out of the so many vicissitudes, highs and lows life throws at us at one point. While some people are hit by health impairments or accidents that leave them with injuries that sometimes mean either less or no activity/and exercise, others lose jobs- and are left with a weight of responsibilities without a source of income. For some, it is going through a divorce that takes a toll on their psychological and physical being, causing an emotional wringer. All these will affect one’s fitness and wellness endeavors.
Despite our inadequacy to avoid some of life’s adversities in our own human strength, we can live in a manner that can minimize them. It takes courage to deal with and work through the misfortunes without losing your vision. Perhaps the best we can do, is accepting and embracing the reality that – misfortunes are all part of the life we live here on this temporary earth. Praying for and having the wisdom, will and discipline to focus on the things we can control while steering away from those we cannot control is the basis for allocating our energies efficiently and effectively.
“It’s not about how many times you fall down, but how many times you get back up”- Abraham Lincoln
It is well…..Selah….