life goes on***

I am cheating? I wrote this last year but it is still true...

Thursday, March 3, 2016

life goes on***

***FYI; By the Way; Warning; Helpful Hint: (Edited 3/2/17)
"Life goes on" is NOT a helpful thing to say to someone hurting. Someone said that to me early on and those words hurt deeply. NEWS FLASH: I knew, we all know, "life goes on". But MY life was not going on. At least, not one I recognized. I was still breathing but Bill was dead. Sometimes I thought; "There must be some mistake, this is not how life was supposed to go." Two and a half years later I still have times it doesn't seem real. A few weeks ago I was certain I heard Bill call my name. The fact that life is still going on around us, "status quo" , can be one of the largest contributors to the pain and struggle, especially when the loss is fresh or in times when you feel raw. So please don't direct those words to the wounded.

Just don't.

you work
you plan
you hope 
you dream

when something happens to change any or all of that
"life goes on"
when life is different than we thought it was going to be
"life goes on"
when we are left with choices we would rather not have to make
"life goes on"

when we are in situations we want no part of
as long as our heart keeps beating
as long as our lungs keep drawing breath
as long as our other organs keep functioning
life goes on,
...whether we want it to or not

we can be tied to "the plan", grow frustrated because it is invalid
or we can rework the plan, 
holding onto what is valuable,
while implementing new ideas and strategies as needed

we can focus on hope that will never be realized
or treasure the good of what was
look for the good of what is
and, in time, allow new hopes to grow

we can hold tightly to broken dreams
or dare to dream different ones
perhaps building off of old ones, 
but maybe scrapping them and starting fresh

"life goes on"
choosing to live is an entirely different matter
when plans have been destroyed
when hope has been crushed
when dreams have been shattered
sometimes it takes awhile to get to the living part of life