Are there days when picking up your feet and holding up your heart are difficult?  Getting through one more day is all you can think of right now and as you wipe away the tears, you know if you stop that you will never get going again? Can you feel lost and not even know that you are lost?  Can the life you live continuously wear you down so you don’t even feel like you are even living anymore?  Can you be in such a rut that being in the rut is what almost seems “normal” to you?  Can you say that you have never felt this way?  I would bet that we all have at one time or another in our lives.  I know I have.  As I heard someone tell me recently about the daily routine that is carried out  — DAY by DAY — I could almost feel myself getting stuck in that rut with her.  I was slowly feeling helpless and claustrophobic as the life was slowly draining from my body.  It was almost suffocating.  As much as I tried to hint at what she could do to make her life different, I also could tell that she wasn’t ready.  She was comfortable with being where she is and I know others just like her.  I know what that looks like as I used to be exactly like that.  For YEARS!!  Nothing really got me fired up and charged my battery and if I found something, it was short-lived.  A quick trip away…time on the golf course…a weekend spent shopping (not for me)…and then what happens next?  Back to the same old thing.  Over and over and over and over again.  I am getting depressed just writing about this too.  I find it very ironic that I think about someone in particular when I share my personal experiences with you.  Although far from unique, I am sure that you can relate.  Tredging is work and tiring.  It is just getting by.  There is no hope.  You don’t believe in possibility.  It makes you unhappy.  How do we change that?  WE choose different.  We reach out to those that inspire us.  We surround ourselves with positive vibes.  We discard stuff that we seem to keep carrying.  We let go.  We move.  And before you know it, we are not lost.  We may not know the direction in which we travel, but our load has become lighter.  We appreciate every breath we take.  We hold onto something meaningful. We work hard. We give…and then give some more.  We forgive and move on.  We grow and learn. Aren’t you tired of existing or barely surviving?  Wouldn’t you rather be alive?  What are you going to do about it?  Me?  I don’t trudge…I walk (very fast), jog, and sometimes run through life, but my head is held high and I move.  Why?  Because “I’m Alive” by Celine Dion