the challenge

The shoulder of the road was gravelly.  It was dark and the stones were cold.  My body lay still at first and the dogs were bewildered.  The phone call was tearful and pointless.  'I've fallen and I can't get up' was not something that could be solved from afar.  The feeling was helplessness, futility.

The spasms that felled me that day were ones I could not overcome at that moment.  The universe threw a challenge and I could not rise to the occasion.

Since that day I have faced challenges - both self-imposed and external - that have similarly eluded my grasp.  Others have been conquered.  There is not however, always Rocky music in the background and inspiration in the face adversity.

When I looked up from the floor of Target I was unsure whether to laugh or cry.  Holiday shoppers kindly offered a hand or calls for help.  It took a minute to gather myself and return to standing, albeit with my head down a bit.  It can be frustrating when similar challenges repeatedly get the best of you.

What was different in one fall from another was a significant realization - for me at least.  Although I'm not getting much better at meeting the challenges, I continue to have the ability to try.  Maybe, I thought, the handle - the coping strategy - is not to get better at overcoming, but to find a different resource for strength.  Trying, I decided, could be a good yardstick.  The ability to try, after all, can't ever be taken away.

There may or may not be a lesson in that for anyone but me.  Either way it's my boxing day story for you.  I hope the challenges inspire you.  I hope the trying empowers you.  And, of course, I also hope for your frequent success!