Things I Am Thankful For #10

I can be very self absorbed.

I think, or I’d like to think, that this is typical of 19 year olds (typical of perhaps other people as well, but at least excusable and understandable for my age group). Everything seems so dramatic.  Like the floor beneath my feet is shifting and it won’t stop. Every event seems epic. It feels like I alone in my suffering, and woe is me.

Each day has challenges. You encounter an obstacle, rise above it, and then bam there’s another obstacle. It’s easy to scream in frustration, throw your hands up in the air, and sit on the ground and pout. The true test of strength is brushing yourself off, getting back on your feet and overcoming the next obstacle. And then the next one. And the one after that.

No, there isn’t any end. No one gets the easy road in life. There is always another challenge around the bend.

But with each obstacle, I become stronger. I become a better person.

As I said, it’s hard to see that in the face of a new challenge. I hate to admit it, but I still do crumble. Just ask my mom. She had the pleasure of listening to me howling in the phone this afternoon about my latest challenge. Literally howling.

But I am learning. I am getting perspective and realizing how I can use the lessons from this challenge to become emotionally stronger.

In my yoga practice I am becoming stronger. I can see it in every class. It is certainly taking it’s time. After two and a half months of classes twice a week I still can’t do a headstand with wall support. My instructor still needs to help my legs up. I still can’t do a back bend, and I can barely manage a shoulder stand. But my instructor noted today that my chuturangas are becoming stronger. My shoulders and hips are opening up. I see myself in the mirror and relish at the sight of muscles hard at work. With each class they are becoming stronger.

I am thankful today for strength. Both emotional and physical. It is a constant uphill battle, and sometimes I huff and puff, but I am working my way up that hill. And I am thankful for the climb. The constant push towards improvement. It sounds a bit odd to be thankful for such a thing, but when I  stand back and see the strides I made I am thankful for where I have come and where I am going.

Sometimes a brownie can help you overcome an emotional obstacle.

I came home to this pan of brownies after yoga. I had a smidge or two. All for the sake of climbing up that emotional hill, right?

Music also helps overcome emotional challenges:

How are you becoming emotionally/physically stronger?

Other posts in the series Things I Am Thankful For

#1: Running

#2: Healing

#3: Warm weather

#4: Spice

#5: Art

#6: Sleep

#7: Communication

#8: Adventure

#9: Leisurely meals