Pick Yourself Up, Dust
Yourself Off, Start All Over Again
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"Nothing's
impossible I have found, for when my chin is on the ground, I pick myself up,
dust myself off, and start all over again" (Lyrics by: Dorothy Fields /
Music by: Jerome Kern).
On
the path to recovery, to a greater understanding of oneself, or even just an
improved outlook – it can be tempting to beat oneself up whenever life throws a
curveball and a moment or a day or a week occurs that makes you feel like you
have messed it all up. It can sometimes
feel like you have to press the reset button on all of your progress, and that
nothing you accomplished before that difficult moment counts anymore. I know I have struggled with this
concept. I felt that if my recovery or
my plans for self-improvement weren’t just perfect, that I either wasn’t doing
it right or I was just a failure. I was
living in this black and white world where there wasn’t room for progress, only
“perfection”. Then one day I was
introduced to two concepts that actually made me pause and reflect on how I was
approaching my life. I was told that I
couldn’t push the river, it was simply going to flow as it needed to. I was also told that if I did find my “chin
on the ground”, to be a gentle cop; meaning to acknowledge that perhaps I had
experienced something difficult, and perhaps didn’t make the best decision in
the moment, but that I didn’t have to beat myself up so badly that I couldn’t
even get up again. I could love myself,
understand that I’m human, and just get back up again and continue down my
path. As I adopted these thought
patterns and practiced them, I found that I did indeed become more gentle with
myself, and over time I actually stopped perceiving myself to be on the ground
so much. It just felt like life, and I
was walking down my path with a greater feeling of Self-love and
Self-acceptance. If you find yourself in
a moment with your chin on the ground, perhaps you can practice pausing,
remembering you can’t push that river of Life, and gently remind yourself that
it’s OK, you’ve still accomplished so much, and you are experiencing your
journey and your recovery exactly the right way for you. You don’t even have to start all over again –
you simply pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and keep moving onward.
Posts
I really appreciated this blog post because recently I have been noticing the depth of compassion and understanding people show for others' mistakes and missteps, but also the seeming inability for these same caring people to extend themselves compassion and understanding. I also appreciated that your post provides yet another example of how black and white thinking can interfere with our ability to "rebound" from a mistake or relapse. If life is only win or lose, do right or do wrong, we are destined to fail because no human can win or do right all the time!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the gentle reminder! Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the meaning of this blog. It is a great reminder to love yourself and to keep moving forward.
ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed this blog! Like Annie, I have also noticed how it is easier for most to be kind with others than with oneself. I have a new appreciation for 1. thinking what you would say to your friend or 2. what your friend would say to you. This objectivity really provides compassion and understanding. With this objectivity it likely is easier to see each "slip up" as a time to pause and learn something about ourselves. If we can appreciate the "mistake" as a moment of learning, it puts a new light on the experience.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog. Very inspiring. I am looking forward to seeing more blogs on extended care recovery.
ReplyDelete