Forged in Fire

Life is a trip. 

That is putting things lightly, if we’re being honest. In less broad terms, life can be brutal. It will beat you down and push you to your absolute limits. This, as many of us know, is unavoidable. 

We all, in some fashion, experience turmoil and hardship. This life that we lead finds a way to smack us directly in the mouth. We find ourselves down and out – lost, scared and tired.

The unfortunate truth of this is not that bad things come our way – no, it’s not quite that simple – but that so many are ill-prepared and unwilling to work through to the other side. 

From my own experience, I’ve learned that anything that occurs – the good and the bad alike – will become what you make of it. This is what I mean:

Let’s pretend that you fail horribly, in a job interview, or an athletic event – whatever it may be – you fall flat on your face. You’ve been humbled in every sense of the word. Life has (likely not for the first time) cut you down. How do we perceive this failure? Do we allow it to degrade everything that we’ve worked to become? Or, conversely, do we view such failure as a gift? 

The hard reality is that such failure is inevitable, as just previously stated. Better yet, such failure should be welcomed, and utilized for the betterment of our lives. 

What so many struggle with, I’ve come to understand, is the process of building associated with overcoming failure and said unavoidable life events that tear us down. It isn’t a quick fix. There are no magic hacks, or easy work-around. It’s hard, but it’s rewarding. 

Within the difficulty, and the moments in time that push us to our very core, we learn. We find new and previously unexplored pieces of ourselves. We, undoubtedly, discover traits within us that we’d never known existed – levels of endurance and integrity that are far beyond what we thought was possible.

A quote from none other than the Velveteen Rabbit (yes, the children’s book) details quite precisely what I’m speaking to here:

“It doesn’t happen all at once,” the horse replies. “You become. It takes a long time.” It has to do with opening yourself up, he explains. It’s about a willingness to be hurt. It takes resilience, he says–the easily broken toys, they never make it. You have to accept being worn down and used up. It’s a day-to-day thing, but once it happens, you’re changed forever.”

All of this to say; perspective is important, and attitude is everything. 

Some will crumble under the weight of hard times and misfortune. They will cower down, and allow this life to take over everything that they are and all that they could possibly become.

This happens far too often. 

What will you do, when the odds are no longer in your favor? When you’ve hit rock bottom?

Will you rise up, and do what is necessary to right the wrong that this life has dealt you? Or will you become a victim of your circumstance?

Will you throw up your hands in defeat? Or will you weather the storm?

The choice is yours.

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