Blog #638: Welcome to the Town of Survival

Who hasn’t lived through extra hard times?
Who hasn’t felt the desperation of thinking:

“Just…survive…the…day.”

I’ve lived that thought.

______

The town of “Survival.”

A lot of us have visited.

Some feel they live there full-time.

Here are two email excerpts from readers:

“…in using an analogy I think you’ll appreciate, I feel my life has recently gone from the challenge of a non-stop walk up a steep hill, to now being pushed to climb a giant mountain. I’m exhausted.”

“…I left a job that I had to get out of, and now I jumped into a worse one. I want to start something of my own because this merry-go-round is not a ride I want to ride anymore.”

Welcome to the town of “Survival.”

______

Ever visit?

Any age can

Every age will.

It’s the 11-year-old who is being bullied daily at school.

It’s the high school teacher who keeps getting knocked on social media.

It’s the junior in college who doesn’t think he can do another year.

It’s the stay-at-home parent who is exhausted of cleaning up after everyone.

It’s the unappreciated employee who has to read the boss’s nasty email…again.

It’s the store owner who loses his profit because of out-of-control theft.

It’s the depressed bill payer who never has enough to pay the month’s bills.

It’s the online dater who desperately keeps trying to find a connection.

It’s the frustrated parent who is bailing her kid out of another situation.

It’s the avid hiker whose knee pain gets worse after every hike.

It’s the aging person who stares at the mirror and wonders, “Where’d I go?”

It’s the person who wakes up every day with zero passion in her soul.

Did I find someone you know on that list?

______

“Just…survive…the…day.”

A hundred different scenarios nudge us towards wearing the desperate thought.

Maybe…

We’ll get lucky and get a “Pass” through life and only be forced to reach that survival-mode point a few times.

But probably not.

______

My hope for this week’s blog?

That we remember to SEE.

If somebody in your life lives in the town of Survival…if anyone you know is just trying to find an ounce of inspiration to get through each day, let him or her know:

“I see you.”

Because sometimes that’s all it takes for any of us to survive.

It’s knowing that we’re seen.

It’s knowing we’re not the only resident in the town of Survival.

And if you’re living there now…

Don’t give up.

“Because…I…see…you.”

S.

______

Note: The photo above was taken on my 750-mile walk in Shikoku, Japan. I was sitting across from that ancient face in the middle of another exhausting walking day. I thought about the creator of that face and wondered if he knew that hundreds of years later, he would be inspiring a tired walker to keep going.