Small Victories.

Been a little out of whack these last couple of days. Not only did I not feel good physically, emotionally I wasn't at my best either. In the midst of all that I realized, it's not about how many times we as people, feel that we fall down, it's how many times we choose to get back up. "Perfect" is a word that was created to use in stories that always have happy endings. Beyond that, that word doesn't apply to anything that actually exist. I feel like  humans, even more so as women, put so much pressure on ourselves to be what everybody else thinks we should be. Without realizing that what everybody else thinks we should be shouldn't even matter because we don't even KNOW everybody else.  I also feel that, sometimes, it is extremely hard to maintain a positive state of mind on the daily because life has no pause button. Unfortunately, nothing in this world is going to stop because we don't feel like we're "all there" today. There is no omniscient being tapping us on the shoulder in the middle of our journey to ask us how we're holding up at that very moment. Wholeheartedly, I wish there was. That way when things do get rough, we can say I know someone will check in on me, so if I can just hold on a little longer, I'll make it through. Sadly enough though, most people suffer through things alone and silently, even when they don't have to. My best friend once told me, that life is about the "small victories", I have to admit at first I didn't really understand what she meant. I think I was too deep in the middle of my fall down, to truly grasp it. Now that I am upright again, I understand that she meant that life is about achieving something that may not be a big deal to someone else but it means everything to the achiever. It is more than likely,  something that may not have been able to be done the  hour, day, week, month or year before. A small victory, but a victory nonetheless. My point is this. If you wake up at any point, on any day and just decide you can't. You can't adult today. You can't suffer today. You can't smile today. If you get out of your bed, and the weight is too much to bear beneath your feet, before you decide whether you want to take another step forward, you first must congratulate yourself for getting out of bed. That's not to say things will never be crappy ever again. Nor will I say, every day is going to be faced with a smile and a clear mind. I would never say that because I know that is completely unrealistic.  More than likely a terrible terrible lie as well. What I will say is, it is ok to move slowly, it is okay to be fully aware of everything you do and fully aware of how hard it is. It is more than okay to pat yourself on the back for EVERY step you take, because to be honest we all have the same 24 hours and some people are choosing not to step at all. Congratulating yourself, or just noticing your own effort, especially when you slip and fall, or "mess up" can be enough to get you through each and every day one step at a time. Continued flow through adversity and hardship, is the greatest accomplishment of all.