Grace Under Fire!

The funny thing I continue to relearn about life is that no matter how confident, happy and balanced you are... there are going to be times where you're kicked down, stomped on, given double black-eyes, internal bleeding, spit on, flipped over and violated and then asked to get up and shine!

It's no wonder as we age, we lose our passion, drive, idealism and self-assured confidence!

It's become my challenge, on a daily basis... to fight the tough fight!

One of my favorite quotes comes from a zen teaching:

Fall down seven times, get up eight.

But to fall down and get back up is only half the battle. Albeit, it's an important part of success-To have the energy and stamina to get up and fight. But you have to maintain the confidence in yourself for which you are fighting to achieve. That can be very tough, when you hear all of your faults from the people who are trying to hold you down, or even make you better for that matter...

What I'm slowly coming to understand is that no matter how positive, driven and focused we are; we will all fall.

The challenge then becomes how to fall with grace, maintain the blows, and then stand up taller than the time before, with even more grace, wisdom, and fuel to steam ahead.

To believe in yourself when everything is going the way you wish is easy to do, and a great feeling. To believe in yourself when very few others do, takes a great deal of faith and trust.

I'm not entirely sure where the confidence and security to "rise above" the barrage of fire aimed at you comes from... but I'm noticing, that it's a lot easier to move forward if you bandage the wounds with a big smile, and remember that those first to attack, are the ones who feel most threatened.