I was just changing the quotation on the whiteboard that lives in my kitchen from:
"It isn't the mountain we conquer, but ourselves."
to:
"Nothing's too far when one wants to get there."
My snazzy FranklinCovey planner helps quite a bit with the business of finding new (apt) inspirational quotes. It reminded me of something that happened to me last winter when I was still struggling with the move, the loneliness, the commute, and all the failure I had just come from. Here I was in a new city with a new job and a new life... but was anything different? Was I ever going to be able to shake it off and start anew?
At the time I was spending hours a day on public transportation. One night while waiting for my bus home, I noticed two men talking who weren't usually around. I overheard them talk about work (they apparently worked right across the street from that metro station) and were each on their way to visit a friend who lived along my bus route. When the first one got off the bus, I struck up a casual conversation with the one who was left. I'm not sure why; maybe we (the three of us) had shared a laugh over something that happened earlier or maybe I just overheard something and made a comment. Regardless, we talked a bit about why we were on that bus and of course I expounded on the topic of the day: my commute. (Heck, that was the topic of every day for those few months I lived there.) I joked that I should get a job at his office and we ended up talking about college and the degree I don't have. He commisserated politely as most people do and he went on his way a few stops before I had to get off.
Weeks later, I saw him again and we talked some more on the bus. We finally learned each other's names, which we didn't bother to do when we first met. I lamented the same lament and then he told me the story of his own college experience and shared an important secret with me. He said, "It doesn't matter how many times you fall down; it only matters how many times you get up again." When I think of that night now, I know that he was right. Indeed, part of me hoped that I would get a promotion (or two!), move closer to work and get accepted into a new college to finish my degree. I'm not sure I really expected to make it happen.
And, as someone else once warned me ("nothing solves all your problems"), living in this world can still be quite challenging. I'm sure I could fill a novel with what's ailing me at the moment. Still, as imperfect as this may be, it is perfect... just for me, just for now. I may have many (epic) failures in my past, but I know the power of getting up and trying again. Or even getting up to try something new. Thanks, Iman.
I would be remiss if I didn't end on my favorite (and for once, related) quotation:
"Why do we fall, Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up."
(Thanks, Batman.)
