Unexpected and Unplanned

Life has a way of throwing things at you when you are least prepared to handle it.  Or rather, you think you are not prepared.  I've found, especially in recent months, that even if life seems overwhelming or too much to handle, it is never more than you are able to tackle - you just have to believe that you can over come whatever the obstacle may be.  It's easy to give up or give in to the stress and excitement that has your wheels spinning out of control.  And though it takes a lot more work and may even seem impossible to accomplish, I've found that as long as I keep moving forward there will be a way passed it.  As my man Johnny Depp says...




It could be people that come and go from your life who are either positive and negative for you at any point in time  Or, it could be an event that throws you for a loop - something tragic or life altering.  I look back at my life over the past several years, often.  It's amazing what looking back will teach you about yourself and how you have grown as a person without even realizing it.  When I find myself in an unpleasant situation, or surrounded by people who are threatening to pull me away from the positive outlook I work hard to keep, I stop.  I look back to a time when this situation or personality type would have broken me to pieces and tell myself, "not this time".  I find it makes me stronger when I tell myself this.  Even if in that moment I am terrified or pissed off by whatever or whoever it is.  I look back and see the me of the past who would have run away and hidden from the fear of the unknown, or unexpected outcome.  It helps me remember that I don't want to be that person anymore.  It gives me courage to stand up and say I won't let the situation or person control my life.  I make the decisions for my my life, no one else.

Unexpected things happen to everyone, all the time.  That's life.  It's how we choose to react that defines who we are.  We are all far from perfect, each with our own flaws and problems.  But if we embrace those flaws and turn them into something positive, life will respond and show us something beautiful.  It's an amazing feeling to find you are strong enough to face a scary or intimidating moment and overcome it with fierceness.  I'm still learning as I go and I still have moments where I forget to look back to find my strength, and the situation begins to swallow me up, blocking the light.  It's in these moments of darkness though, that I find my inspiration.  I reach a point where I decide I won't take it anymore and rise up until I'm heard or until I get passed whatever it is bringing me down.  It reminds me that during my stronger moments, I can handle it.  We all can.  It's just a matter of finding what makes you strong as a person.  For me, it's looking back at the time in my life when I wasn't strong and telling myself I will not continue my life that way.  Life may be unexpected and throw things at us that we didn't plan for, and are therefore unprepared for.  But when you stop and really take it in, you may just find that it's not what you planned - but it may be what you need to make yourself stronger.

Alysia