Thrive Anyway

Yesterday I came across this amazing video...

Inspired by the images of beauty growing in such unlikely places, I posted it to my Facebook page with the caption "Life can be less than ideal. Thrive anyway."

It had been a long week. I felt stretched in many ways, and my body had been giving me reminders that I was in need of some self-care. So I promised myself that no matter what, I would wake up early and go to my yoga class.

I did not sleep well that night. Much was weighing on my mind. But, when the alarm rang at 7 a.m. sharp, I honored my commitment and made my way to downtown Bozeman.

As soon as I exited my car and stepped foot onto the sidewalk, my feet flew out from underneath me, slipping on the previous day's frozen precipitation, and KERPLUNK, I landed on my left side. Cursing under my breath, I looked around to see who might have witnessed my disgrace, but luckily it was still early and the streets were empty.

I almost went home to lick my wounds. But, being only just a few feet away from my destination, I found enough resolve to slowly make my way to the warm, safe yoga studio.

I started my practice feeling a bit sorry for myself. My hand and arm were a bit scraped up, and there was surly an impressive bruise forming on my hip. As I began my movements, somewhat reluctantly at first, I heard a voice whisper, "This is a practice of resilience. Thrive anyway."

I decided to welcome resilience, and I managed to enjoy my practice.

As I was leaving, reaching into my coat pocket I found, to my dismay, that my keys were not there. I searched fruitlessly in my bag and anywhere else it might have been misplaced. Nothing. "I must have dropped it when I fell," I reasoned. So I made my way back to that fateful spot, searching the area around my ground zero. Nothing.

I made my way to my car. It was unlikely, but maybe I had left them inside. I peered inside my locked car. The keys were nowhere to be seen, but my phone was lying inside, just where I left it.

Tears began to fill my eyes. What am I going to do? Of course, I can't think of a single phone number of any person who could actually help me. In desperation, I walked back to my place of deep regret, praying that some kind soul would have found them and maybe turned them in. The jewelry store I stood in front of was not yet open, but I began looking at the building. Finally, I saw them hanging on a metal pipe. "Thank you, God."

Resilience. My practice of resilience continued after I left my mat. I decided to have a fantastic day, to enjoy the beauty and grace all around me. I will grow and thrive wherever I am planted, whether in my comfort zone or (even more likely) when I am not.

Life is less than ideal, friends. Let's thrive anyway.