And at the end of the day, we're all just figuring it out. And in that figuring out, we use the information that is available to us. And as we use the information available to us, at some point, you have to choose, a way, to be. And in choosing a way to be, we let those choices carry meaning. And to show that those choices carry meaning, we have to stand behind them. It is in that stance that we let those choices define us. And it is that definition, we also use to define life.
Standing on one pedestal made up a curated set of choices, we discard the rest and say, "this is my life". And in that standing firm, we endure the bruises of what that definition means, as it gets applied to everyone else around us who did the very same thing in their own way. We also get to enjoy the fruits and joys of those choices that we used to define us.
We take those wins and losses and say, "This is what makes my life meaningful, this is why I get up everyday, this is why I have hope. We anchor ourselves to that meaning, made up of choices, pulled together by the information we had in front of us, and we pull on that chain just as hard as that anchor holds us down.
But there are times we realize that one pedestal we stood on has brought more bruises than peace. That it has hurt more than it has inspired, that is has hated more than it has loved, and the decision to abandon is now glaring at you like a speeding train in the middle of the night.
Stepping off sometimes makes you feel like a failure, which is automatic, based on what you stood on to define who you are. The result is a world mixed with people standing on their pedestals proudly, some in shame, so who came off and sees it as a chance to build a better pedestal, while others who came off theirs, feel lost, robbed, angry, or depressed and wander in their own dessert or stay stuck without a journey, afraid to, or think they lack the ability to build a new pedestal.
And all this happens in one room...the present. We see and feel, not just our own but everyone else's, and we get challenged every day to prove who we are. Sometimes, I cant tell if I'm still standing on my pedestal, or still falling, or already fell, or on the way to building a new one or stuck holding on to the hurt and anger from feeling like a failure from the first one.
But I do know one thing, regardless of where I am, my eyes open everyday, they see the information presented in front of me and it is up to me to navigate it and decide what I will give meaning to, and what I will not. So whether I'm still embolden on the top of mine or lost in a dessert figuring it out, again, I have one foot going in front of the other, and turning back is not an option.
