Life is a series of peaks and valleys
No matter where we come from or who we are, life is bound to have some really high points as well as some really low ones.
The world is always watching.
Whether we are at a high moment or low one.
People are ready to criticize and cast stones while words of praise are secret wishes.
No doubt the peaks are easy to see while the valleys are not.
No one likes to be in a valley.
But they come.
Life makes sure of that.
If we know this, then why do we have such a hard time with this?
We don’t handle change well
When things are going well, we want to ride that wave forever.
On the other hand, when things are not going so well, we can’t even see the wave to catch it again.
If we get a promotion at work, if we are going to be a grandparent for the first time, if we get to take a trip around the world — we will take those wonderful moments every day.
We love these things.
However, if we quit chasing a dream, lose a loved one, or suffer public humiliation, those moments can be difficult to recover from.
For all of us.
Change is bound to happen.
It will happen every day.
Without notice in most cases.
Change will slap us into a state of reality that makes us catch our breath and take stock into what is right in front of us.
Even the best moments are hard to process.
The valleys and peaks
None of us are meant to stay in the valley or at the peak for our entire lives.
Some of us don’t know how to climb out of the valley.
We become frustrated, lonely, and sad.
Full of guilt and regret, we never look to the peaks — believing we are not worthy of them.
We tell ourselves we want a to leave the place we are in, but do nothing to make that happen.
So we remain stuck forever.
I was there for a long time.
Even when the peaks showed themselves to me, I had convinced myself that I didn’t belong there.
The lie I had believed was that life only gave us what we deserved.
The peaks weren’t for me.
I wanted to believe in the pinnacles just out of reach.
I just didn’t know how.
In the same regard, people who have never left the peak and fallen to the valley find themselves lost.
Because it is different.
Struggle is never something that have endured.
They have never suffered defeat.
Everyone who has ever been on the peak wants to get back there.
Clawing and scratching their way — fighting with everything they have to return.
I’ve been there too.
When I awoke, I found myself in a hole.
Dazed and confused.
Yet knowing what needs to be done to get me back where I want to be.
Life’s truth
Most of us will want to stay somewhere between the peak and the valley…
…where the road is more stable.
Never wanting anything so badly to happen we feel the world drop out from underneath us yet never seeking the peak so high we know there is little room there at the top.
But even there, life will show us high points and low points.
No matter who we are. No matter where we come from.
Expect that life will change.
That some days will be better than others.
That some days will be worse than others.
We are bound to stumble and we are bound to soar.
Take it all in stride and regardless of where you are — in the valley or on the peak — never forget who you are.
Michelle A. Homme 2017 ©
