Do you remember the first time you ever went swimming? You probably inhaled a ton of water and thought you were going to drown.
The fear of swimming in the deep end and thinking there were sharks at the bottom, so you would kick as hard as you could to get to the side so you could get out.
Sometimes, that’s how I feel in life. Like an obstacle pops up and I take in a ton of water. I look for the lifeguard to jump in and save me or my parents to put their hand under me to hold me up but it never happens. The water keeps coming and you feel like it doesn’t matter how hard you kick; you can’t make it to the edge to pull yourself out. The cold reality is that sometimes there aren’t any lifeguards or your parents to help keep you from drowning. The reality is that you have to figure out how to keep your head above water, how to keep kicking even when you’re tired, and find the edge so you can pull yourself out. Swimming is simple when you know how to. Just like cleaning up some spilled milk. You know how to get a paper towel and clean it up. What do you do when you don’t know how to get over an obstacle? You figure it out! You kick like you’ve never kicked before, you take in the deepest breath when your head is above water, and you make it to that edge somehow!
Life is all about continuing until you reach the edge. How you get there is up to you. I get some days you don’t want to “swim” anymore. I get that kicking and fighting gets tiring.
Think about what is at the edge. You have the rest of your life, your happiness, your family, and your future waiting for you there. Don’t give up on it.
Remember the obstacles you’ve already overcome and the days you’ve made it through. You will make it through whatever it is that you are going through. In the famous words of Dori off of Finding Nemo, “Just keep swimming”.
If no one has told you today that you are loved, you’re enough, and to keep swimming because you’re almost there…….I’m telling you that now!
Until next time!