Sometimes what Sustains us isn’t convenient
We are spoiled by the conveniences in our lives. When we want food we go to the grocery store. We get sick, we go to the doctor’s office. We have gyms to work out in to stay in shape. For the most part, the majority of us do not go through day to day life worrying about our chances of survival. Inconvenience is the greatest thorn in our side.
We pull into the grocery store lot and someone else slips into the parking slot we were eyeing. We go to the fast food joint and have to stand in line. We call or text and someone doesn’t answer us right away. The list of minor annoyances generated by small inconveniences could go on and on.
One summer it seemed like everyday I had off and wanted to go on a hike, it would rain. It rained and rained. Days that I worked, the sun shone and the weather was great. Finally, I decided, along with 2 of my friends, to just go, rain or shine, and we did a few hikes in the rain. I discovered it wasn’t so bad. The trail is a living thing and every facet of it has something to offer. The rains nourished the flora and the world was lush and verdant with growth. The rain kept us from overheating on the summer days we ventured out. Here in the south heat and humidity together can zap one’s energy quickly. There is always something positive in every situation if you care to look for it. Our hikes were new experiences and we met other hikers who gave us great advice on how to dress to work with the elements not against them. If you are going to be out in the rain, you are going to get wet.
Sometimes, what sustains us isn’t always convenient. It is too easy to acquire a sense of entitlement, to believe that because you are you, you deserve things to always go your way. This is a fallacy that nature and circumstances will correct given time. Perhaps, it is not good for us in general that life is so easy for us. Hardship hones us, sharpens our wits and forces us beyond our comfort zone. It challenges us to find within us what it will take to overcome. When a person had never experienced real hardship, when it arrives there is a decision to be made.
The ease of everyday life hasn’t prepared us for some of the harsh realities of our trip on this planet. The easy thing to do is give up, complain and slip into victimhood. It is so easy and so predominant that victimhood is a status some actually seek. There is no sustenance in victimhood, there is no growth. There is a temporary wellspring of compassion that fades without leaving anything nourishing in its wake.
The more difficult thing to do is meet the challenge head on. When we step up into the unknown we will discover what it has to offer. There will be discomfort, even pain but we can bear so much more than we think we can. There will be dark days and fear and frustration, but there will also be moments of discovery, moments of victory, moments that redefine who we are and what we are capable of.
I do not know where we are heading these days. Uncharted territory looms unfavorably ahead. There is a lot of information vying for our attention and much of it is contradictory. Who to believe? What path forward do we choose. Do we let someone else make that choice or do we take personal responsibility for ourselves and set out.
We are made of sterner stuff than the media would have us believe. We will survive and when we come out the other side we will know who we are and what we are capable of. It’s not about convenience anymore; it is about sustenance.
This little business venture is about proclaiming to the world that it is good to choose the path less traveled. We are individuals, original, alive and capable.
Check us out at TheOriginalNeanderthal.com. See you there!
Theoriginalneanderthal 