Pushing On

What is it that makes us take a terrible situation, and keep going forward?  Just our will to forget and move on?  I'm not sure, but I've been noticing it's a theme lately.  I can't help that I'm drawn to people who have faced the worst circumstances and moved on, or found happiness again.  Those that have faced adversity and come out on the other side. 

There is a common theme in all of us, to love, and find happiness, but on that trek, well, life happens.  I was on a run yesterday and with the colder weather on the east coast, I have been dragging and finding excuses to not get out there.  But I yelled at myself to stop thinking about it so much and just go do it.  It sucked, in a nutshell, but something happens after that first mile.  I start to find a rhythym.  I start to think about random things and before I know it, I have run another mile.  Those are the best runs, losing all sense of the time and miles ticking away on my running watch.  I looked down to see that I had run 1.67 miles before I even knew it.  It felt great and then the ensuing miles felt great.  And the weather was no longer cold, but sunny and bright.  I was no longer cranky, but feeling a sense of accomplishment and good tired. Pushing myself, physically and mentally I got it done.  Getting through a run is one thing, but doing that in life when the chips are down, is another.

About a month ago, a dear friend lost her mother, too young.  She had been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer this summer, and things progressed quickly.  She had already lost her father a few years ago, and now, her and her three siblings find themselves adult orphans.  My heart tightens everytime I think about it.  She, however, seems to be doing ok.  Back to work, a positive outlook. 

Her story is not the only one, another friend who is now in a "scary" pregnancy, another friend who can't get pregnant, and another going through another cycle of IVF.  Friends' parents or spouses with health scares.  And further out, teens involved in bullying, or miners being stuck underground for 69 days.  If their tale is not an example of pushing on, I'm not sure what is. 

This weekend, one of the Chilean miners will be in NYC to run the NYC marathon.  He ran six miles a day underground, but that is about all the training he has done.  I doubt it will matter much when it comes to the marathon.  For his tale is one of survival and the true definition of discipline.  And he will be surrounded by many strangers who were cheering him on while underground and during the rescue. 

It's stories like his, or my dear friend, that I look upon for strength in my own times of adversity.  But there's another common theme here.  That we can't do it alone.  But perhaps together we can all push on.  Get rid of the imaginery lines that divide us, and do it together.  Run together, survive underground together, change together, and push on together.   Perhaps there's someone who needs a boost today, or a just a quick email that says we are thinking about them.  Perhaps someone needs a little push, perhaps it's you who can give it to them.  Afterall, it may be you that doesn't realize your ability to push on.  Or, if you are the one that needs a little push, then I hereby reach out to let you know you are not alone.  We are, afterall, in it together.  Push on my friends.