Although the world is full of suffering,
it is full also of the overcoming of it.
My optimism, then, does not rest on the absence of evil,
but on a glad belief in the preponderance of good
and a willing effort always to cooperate with the good,
that it may prevail.
~ Helen Keller
What are your dragons, monsters, ghouls, goblins, and scars?
Whatever they are, you are not alone.
Everyone has fears, aches, past traumas, and unrelenting issues. Everyone has their demons.
Some of the most successful, seemingly happiest people you might observe have abused drugs, women, or themselves out of an innate need or desire to achieve happiness through self-depracating means.
Suffering, failures, fears, the “lows” … are built into our lives.
They’re concrete, normal, and unavoidable.
Why do many of us avoid them then?
Maybe embracing them without identifying with why we suffer so much, learning from our failures, feeling our fears and jumping anyway, dwelling peacefully in the “low” as we envision the “high” to come … maybe confronting the obstacles to our happiness can allow our true strength or happiness to shine through.
The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing heart. ~Robert G. Ingersoll
Enjoy the courage of Jonah Mowry (and the wonderful song “Breathe” by Sia). Let him remind each of us:
You’re not alone. And how you show up today … is a choice.
Dr. Christopher Stepien is a chiropractor, chronic pain specialist, and A.R.T. provider, and clinic director of the Barefoot Rehabilitation Clinic in Morristown, NJ. He practices out of Guerrilla Fitness:Crossfit Morristown.
I'm Dr. Christopher Stepien, chiropractor, fitness & nature enthusiast, and I'm here as your truest source on achieving health and happiness.
