Falling

Back in the days of my childhood, there was a split-rail fence that ran along my neighbor's property. Part of the fence divided our backyard and theirs. The challenge was to walk the entire length of the fence. I started out pretty well, but I went wobbly after about thirty feet and fell. I lay there on the ground, looking up at the sunlight coming through the veins in the leaves on bushes, noticing the rich scent of the earth. I wasn't in a hurry to jump back up. Eventually I got up. Eventually I walked the entire fence.

Another time, same backyard. I learned to ice skate the year that Peggy Flemming was an Olympic champion. I wanted to twirl the way that she did. How hard could it be? She made it look so easy. I glided along the ice, flung a leg out and around to turn my body and FWUMP! landed on my back. I lay there, feeling the coldness of the ice seep into me, watching light snow waft down from the clouds, feeling the snowflakes as they fell on my cheeks and melted in a tickley way. I wasn't in a hurry to jump back up. Eventually I got up. Eventually I learned that twirl.

When we fall, we gain fresh perspective.

When we fall, we learn not only our limitations, but we also learn our strengths.

When we fall, we understand that success isn't built on achievement, but on perseverance.

When we fall, we get back up.

We always get back up.


(Thank you to Carla - who writes here - for the inspiration for this post!)