Bringing to Life a Survivor's Spirit

        This week, my friends, we're going to delve into something I happen to find a huge part of my life, in various ways, and hopefully by my sharing that, you'll benefit in some way.  I know I pretty much say that every week, but that just means that the intent is still there.  So there.

        As I was perusing a set of quotes a friend of mine sent as a favor to help me in my work for the PB Facebook Community Page, I found one which stood out to me:

Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you

as by the attitude you bring to life;

not so much by what happens to you

as by the way your mind looks at what happens.

- Khalil Gibran

        When I read that, the story of The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett came to mind; it was one of my favorite stories, growing up, and the recollection made me smile!  For those who are unfamiliar with the story, the basic idea is that a rich, spoiled girl loses everything, including her parents, and is eventually shipped to stay in the mansion of an uncle who is rarely at home.  Eventually she is told of a locked garden left to ruin after the uncle's wife died, and so, in the course of her adventures, she discovers a bedridden boy who actually has nothing physically wrong with him, and with the help of another, they end up discovering that life is not always what it seems, and with much love and dedication, magical transformations can happen, not just around us, but within us as well.  

        Hopefully I didn't just ruin the plot for anyone who would like to read it!  Nevertheless, you might already have an idea of why the story came to mind while reading Gibran's quote.  Each of the people in the story, the children in particular, have been given a set of circumstances which include the assumptions about them that they were given by others, namely the adults in their lives and especially their parents.  It wasn't until they found themselves together, working toward a common goal, that they began to see things in their own perspectives, which opened up an entirely different view of how their lives worked and how they could proceed with them.  

        In my own life, I have in the past joked about my "incurable optimism", in that even though life has thrown obstacle after obstacle, heartaches and painful choices and whatever else at me, and even in the variable depths of the blackness which accompanies depression and included thought processes, even the very darkest, I have come through them, and am still here.  I'm not even entirely sure how that works, nor why, but I have always had a survivor's spirit, and that has carried me through even the most intense of situations.  For some reason, this time of year brings with it challenges of mind, heart and body, and yet I've continued forward, each moment at a time.

And I tell you that, because I know you have a survivor's spirit, too.

How do I know that?  Well, that part is fairly simple: you're here, and you're reading this.

        Why on earth would you be interested in reading this post, or even this blog in general - why would you follow the path of the PB Project at all, wherever or however you're connected to it, if you didn't have the kind of flame within you, or at least a spark, which keeps you moving forward, too?  Perhaps you do it to support me, or because you are looking for that kind of support in an effort to take another step?  Perhaps you are simply curious or bored, stumbled across this, and decided that it was an interesting way to pass a few minutes?  Either way, as they say, your record for survival is 100% so far, so that's something amazing!

        My friends, I believe in us.  Some days I believe in you far more than I believe in me, but that is the nature of life, I think.  But we are in this together, taking one step at a time, one moment at a time, one breath at a time, and that means that within us is an attitude of survival, which is a beautiful foundation for better things!  

If we've survived everything we've been dealt in life,

who's to say we can't do more, and better, and greater? 

Who's to say we can't be phenomenal and fulfill a potential

that we can't even begin to dream, right now? 

What is to stop us from taking a step at a time

in the direction of bigger, brighter things,

that could someday change our path

and direct us toward great accomplishments

and a record even more amazing than simply surviving?

        Why not try to take a step upward?  I know many of us are tired, and at times feel we have nothing left, but when we have the self-compassion to embrace who we are, and practice self-care, we just might discover we have more within us than we have thought.  Wouldn't that be something worth trying to aim our hearts in that direction?  One moment of choice at a time is all it takes, if we are willing to try it.  And we don't have to do it alone.  There are always ways to connect with others who are on their way, too.  And you are always welcome here, as well, which could be a good start.

        Better days ahead, my friends!