What do you do when can’t get up? You just take comfort knowing you can’t get much lower than you are.
As well as being one of favourite lyrics – this line has stuck with me for some years now. I’ve experienced many hardships and trials in my life so far. That’s the important part – “so far”.
I’ve stared into that abyss that many of you have experienced yourselves. There were times that I thought I’d be lost in that black place forever. Times that I didn’t see the point in picking up the pieces or getting back up on the horse. I was convinced that I’d fallen apart so many times, and that each time I’d rebuild myself there would be a piece missing…
It took a lot of trials by fire and suffering before I realised that was not the reality.
The reality is that I’d gotten up again, and again, and again, and each time I was stronger. Stronger than I ever knew I could be. It’s easy for me to sit here and write this, having stepped out of the fire so to speak, but I know that more trials will come and that my experiences, my falls, will have prepared me for what’s to come.
One of the biggest hurdles I’ve faced is the working world. It’s so easy to get into the mindset of not-belonging – being a pariah because of personal circumstances. There’s some truth to that sentiment. Many, too many, are excluded because they’re not available on an employers time-frame.
Like it or not, money is a vital part of living. Everyone needs it but not everyone has accessible means to find it. Full-time parents, carers and those that have health difficulties are side-lined for those without such constraints – how is this fair? Why do we live in a society wherein those that want to earn extra income and work are denied, or at the very least are discriminated against?
Work, no matter how little, is an extremely important part of life. We, as a species, are hunter-gatherers. Work is, and should be, a positive and rewarding experience that helps us grow as individuals. A sense of purpose and fulfilment is a massive driving factor in positive and forward thinking – it’s all too easy to find yourself stuck in a rut and feel trapped without these foundations to stand on.
Those opportunities are available – they’re just not being applied to those that need them. This is not an unsolvable puzzle. All it takes is someone willing to pick up the pieces and put them together…