As I climbed the hill I stopped for a moment to look out over the area I had come from. Then I looked straight out. I could see a break in the trees but no matter how hard I looked I could not focus on the trees in the distance. My eyes would not move focus from the trees nearest me. For a moment I found focus half way, but could not clearly see the trees out ahead of me. I turned and started to work the rest of the way up the hill, it was steep and I am out of shape. Nearing the top my heart pounded and my muscles asked for a break. I would not stop, I had to reach the top! Finally I crested, I slowed to a walk and worked through the pain the was washing through me.
This run brought a reminder of clarity to me. No matter how hard we look to the future it is never clear. The more that is currently around us the harder it is to understand what the future will hold. Though there was beauty around me, I didn't want to see it, I wanted to move forward and see what was beyond the trees. At these moments we need to remember, we will get there. The trees, the noise around us it where we are, we must see it, slow and recognize what is around us. Focus on the leaves, see the branches. This help make the path more clear. Push forward and in time we will get to where we want to be.
The other point of clarity came in the last steps of the hill. Sometimes life hurts, some times it rips us apart from the inside, sometimes we just want to give in. But we can't we have to push through. There are points that if we stop and feel the pain we will only fall, lose ground and sometimes become lost. If we can keep going, dig deep and find the last bit of strength we will have time to recover, there are breaks, sometime that break is only slowing from a run to a walk, but it is still a break. Look around as you push, find a hand hold, pull with all your strength. Just because you are on your feet, doesn't mean you can't reach out and use your hands. See the trees use them to pull forward.
When we connect the little things when we appreciate what is right beside us, what is just a bit in front of us, we find the strength to get to the next phase. No one ever said it was going to be easy, no one ever said it would be this hard either. But inside we all have strength, around us each of us have trees to lean on. Dig deep, push through, don't forget to look around you, see the trees, and at the same time, keep your head up and know there is a path through the forest. You will come through and you will be scratched, you will hurt and you will be stronger.
Motivate inspire and find your focus!
