The calm before the storm. The air is still but you can smell the storm coming. The rain starts as a driving force, it comes down so hard that it hurts your face when it hits. Waves crash, white caps foam. The storm is roaring like a lion....a lion in the jungle, the heat is torturous, there is lightening in the distance and the crack of the thunder echos through the leaves, even the animals are restless but they prepare....prepare like when you ride a rollercoaster! You buckle in, you plant your feet firmly, you test the bar and you hold on for dear life. Well, I am on the ship,in the jungle and holding on to the damn bar for dear life. Drinking these Optifast shakes are definitely a storm in my peaceful existance. From the day we are born we immediately begin the struggle to survive. Some people struggle more than others with survival. I myself have had some really bad situations happen but I always seem to survive, maybe it is not just survival mode maybe it is just stubborness! Maybe it is my faith and the promise of tomorrow. The defintion of survival by www.merriam-webster.com is a : the act or fact of living or continuing longer than another person or thing b : the continuation of life or existence <problems of survival in arctic conditions. So as the song goes "first I was afraid, then I was petrified" "it took all the strength I had not to fall apart" but "I will survive as long as I know how to love I know I will stay alive I've got all my life to live I've got all my love to give and I will survive. I WILL SURVIVE" Gloria Gaynor knew what she was saying in 1979 when this anthem song hit the charts. Storms in our life can help us grow so much. They might be scary and dark but when you get through them the light comes and there is generally a rainbow. The same storm that was so very difficult could be the very thing that builds strength and courage and really developes who we are. Each day I walk through this journey I learn something new. I embrace what the day has brought and when I close my eyes at night I dream of what tomorrow brings. I have a goal, a dream and no matter how hard this storm is I am determined to survive. Walt Disney said "all our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.' Courage comes from deep inside and pushes it's way through when sometime we don't think there is any strength or courage left but it surprises us at the most perfect of times. I am relying on my strength and courage to push through and carry me through the next 11 days or pre-op and for the months post-op. Anyone who knows me well will agree with me when I say I am a fighter. Sheer stubborness and determination sometimes drive me with a quick temper to boot. I have spent much time working on the temper portion but the stubborness and determination seem to work for me. One of the biggest flaws I have is believing in myself but I work on it and courage helps me through. My survival through this journey through this storm is a learning curve that has progress only by strength and courage. My cousing sends me great quotes daily and I really love them and appreciate that she sends them. This is a quote she sent me a few days ago but I just thought it fit so well. Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...
It's about learning how to dance in the rain. - Vivian Greene. The question I leave you with is Do you know how to dance in the rain?
Steph
It's about learning how to dance in the rain. - Vivian Greene. The question I leave you with is Do you know how to dance in the rain?
Steph
You know what I love best about the Gloria Gaynor song? At one point she says "It took all the strength I had not to fall apart", and then goes onto "but now I hold my head up high!"
ReplyDeleteYou wouldn't be making this choice if your health wasn't causing you some problems, frustrations, and even days when "I used to cry". However, all those hardships only make you strong and able to (now) "hold my head up high!". By the end of I Will Survive she's chanting, and strong on her own accord from all she's been through.
Great choice on this song. Certainly one of my anthems when I'm feeling down - it helps to remind me that adversity and challenge will only make me stronger!