It is easy to say to someone else, “get back up,” when they fall down. However, it’s much harder to do so if it is you, yourself that has fallen. If a person goes through a hard experience, it’s understandable that the harder the fall, the harder it is to get up. That is one side of the coin. On the other hand, the harder something is to get up from the more you might get help from others or from your own inner strength.
Every single person goes through countless amounts of experiences daily. The daily experiences do not, and are not usually earth shattering or traumatic. Any small event or disappointment, aggravations and so on, are sometimes even harder to get up from than from big traumas. Our daily work from the moment we wake up, no matter what kind of day we are experiencing, is to keep on going. This job is the job of consistency, and in my opinion is harder to do, since it’s a constant job.
Consistency is something that is hard since it never ends. The hard things that happen to us once in a blue moon, come with a certain amount of adrenaline so that we can cope with the situation at hand, mentally, spiritually, emotionally and physically, in order to help us get through the trauma. However, when we were having our simple daily experiences, we have to pick ourselves up from small events. From aggravating conversations, from a long line at the supermarket, from someone saying something not nice to us. The pressure we get during our daily activities is much harder to manage and balance, since it is a constant work. Controlling our thoughts and our feelings is a very difficult task. At any given moment our moods can change, from one extreme to the next, and from one emotion to another. Responsibility, is knowing the balance, and the timing, and what to do with our emotions.
After we have a nice event or a big event like a wedding or a party celebration, we feel a big crash the day after. We feel a bit low because we were busy preparing and planning and doing everything towards that big event, and then the event came and went. Once again we need to pick ourselves up again and continue in a positive way and find the greatness in the next moment even if it’s a quiet and boring moment after celebrating some big events.
I try to imagine the world as a stage, and as a show or a movie that is constantly going on, scene after scene. When a person is practicing for a play or even on stage, if they make a mistake the trick is to immediately get back up and continue as if that moment didn’t happen, or to try and make that moment insignificant because the next moment is coming a second later. If we concentrate on a moment that we failed, we’re not going get to the next moment.
Therefore, on days when I feel down moments, and when I feel that things are not exactly going as I planned or expected, I stop and I say,” OK, these negative thoughts are getting me down, and are going to lead me to something negative. Stop thinking negative thoughts and do something different. Sing a song, run down the block, help some random person on the street. Smile, and do anything to change that moment, even for a small while.
Throughout all these small actions we are able to ensure that we lead a more balanced day and life. We cannot control what will come our way; who we will meet or what our daily experience might be. However, we can work on controlling our reaction. And each time we fall down, even if it is just for a moment, we will get up right away. Thus leading a healthier life, despite all the challenges that are sent our way daily.
Thank you Hashem for giving me the strength and the sense to do what is right no matter what comes my way.
