Keep Showing Up

Photo by Jack Anstey on Unsplash

Well…I’m not sure where to start. But I need to write. So, let’s do this.

Welcome.

I saw a quote (maybe some kind of social media post?) not long ago which really touched me and made me think. It went something like this:

“Thank you for continuing to show up in a story that isn’t going how you thought it would.”

Cool, right? I thought so.

Because, man, things sure aren’t going how I thought they would. And I’m willing to bet that everything isn’t going exactly how you planned it either, is it?

Maybe it’s just me, but sometimes it feels like — no matter who or where each of us is — life and the world are determined to not only yank the rug out from from under us, but also to film it, post the video, and make a lot of money off the viral hilarity that is our bemused expressions as we wonder just how, exactly, we ended up on the floor.

How’s that for a metaphor?

My point is that I think there’s a universal experience of occasionally looking around and wondering “Wait…how the heck did I end up here”.

And you know what? That’s ok. Really.

Because those unexpected twists and turns are, or at least can be, the things that give us the most agency in, and influence over, our lives.

Sometimes, I think, it’s easy to put way too much emphasis on the idea that we need to have a plan, or a path, or a purpose, or whatever word we want to use to describe having perfect control over the direction of our lives, in order to be happy. I mean, we’ve all heard about the “good school, good job, happy family” progression, right? The one that inevitably leads to us riding our happy little success stories off into the sunset?

Right?

How’s that working out for you? Because, honestly, I think someone forgot to mention an important part about “mice, men, and their happy little plans” when they were laying it out for me.

Hmm.

Anyway, in my 33 years on this planet I’ve come to realize that life is going to do and be exactly what it’s going to do and be, and that the most exhilarating moments come when we can look back and see just how far we’ve come and how much we’ve grown. Or, conversely, when we recognize that the direction we’re headed in is NOT where we want to go, and we get the opportunity to dream, and scheme, and set ourselves on a course for somewhere totally new and exciting. Or even when things are just kinda…working out for us for a minute, and all we can do is sit there amused that this is the timeline that we got stuck with.

Which is why I thought this quote was so cool.

Because the only important thing, really, is that we keep showing up. The rest will, whether we like it or not, take care of itself.

Sometimes the insanity is manageable, sometimes it’s really friggin’ hard, and sometimes all we can do is give life’s metaphorical video a begrudging like because, honestly, we do look pretty funny there on the floor.

And that’s ok. Because while this whole life thing isn’t always fun — and is never easy — it is pretty cool. We just have to keep showing up for the ride.

Thanks for reading, you’ve got this,

-Ian