Life is Really Like That Sometimes

My son brought home a writing assignment from school. He was tasked with using his imagination to finish a drawing and write a story about his picture. His story contained all the elements of a real narrative thriller. In his story he was the main character in a situation all too familiar, picking up gems in a world full of fire. Also there are leg traps (literally in the story). Now you might think we cannot learn from his creative writing skills, but hear me out. While he may not be a Nobel laureate in literature, he has some good insight into life.

In general ,we do a poor job of teaching people how to tolerate distress. We spend a lot of time celebrating peoples successes but do very little to acknowledge the challenges we faced to get there. The reality is we all have difficult things that we’re facing right now. And we have several choices to make when it comes to our problems. We can solve the problem, we can tolerate our emotions related to the problem, or we can stay miserable.

In my career as a therapist I have sat with people that have been through horribly traumatic events. They’ve lived through untimely deaths of loved ones, physical or sexual abuse, and unspeakable violence. There are real rooms full of fire and leg traps in our lives. Wellness has everything to do with a person’s willingness to tolerate distress and discomfort In an effort to face life’s challenges.

Healing requires courage. Being brave enough to face a room full of fire and leg traps to pick up gems speaks to me of resilience. Because life is really like that sometimes. If you face the fire and avoid the leg traps in your life you can heal and move forward in a healthy way. But a key element to being resilient is having courage and faith in your own abilities. You got this—pick up those gems.