One foot in front of the other.


I vaguely recall some adage regarding not knowing who your friends are until they have to get their hands dirty.

When things are light and fun, it’s easy to have a person’s back, but it’s when you’re up to your elbows in muck that the rubber meets the proverbial road.

In light of, and in response to recent developments, I’ll say that without exception, people from far and wide have come out of the woodwork, shadows, and my distant past to either offer advice, perspective, or just simple support. Some individuals I know intimately, and some I only know through occasional emails, yet all have circled the wagons, and offered me shoulders in all shapes and sizes.

As I said on Thursday, having finally at long last recognized the nucleus of my issues (or at least one of them), I can begin to address it, rewire my mode of operation, and hopefully emerge from the other side a happier, and healthier human being.

It comes in spits and spurts but for the first time in months, I feel like I can finally breathe again. Like, actually inhale to the maximum of my lung’s capacity. This is just a start because as I embrace what is real, and shed my spirit of that which no longer serves me, I’d imagine it’s a good bet that more than a few pitfalls still lie ahead. That’s one of the tricks to being a functioning person I suppose. Recognizing that without the valleys, a person can’t have the peaks, but sometimes when said valleys have come in rapid succession, it’s easy to lose sight of the sun, and know that with a little bit of care, and patience, the ascent to the next peak will already be underway.

I’m on my way, and will continue to be mindful of not getting stuck in place before arriving at the next vista. My well being very literally depends on it, and if that’s not motivation to maintain this particular directive, then I can’t imagine what would be.

Mental wellness is no joke, and it’s astonishing how many people who’ve reached out to me that suffer from similar veins of what I’ve described. We don’t live in a society which celebrates health, (mental, or otherwise), and as we trudge through the current upside-down times, among other head scratchers, I can’t help but reflect on the fact that it’s easier to buy a gun than it is to get health care. This observation alone is enough to leave me flattened at the bottom of the hill forever.

That said, it’s clear that we absolutely have to be our own advocates when it comes to maintaining our health, and mental well-being.

Let it now be known that as people have offered me support these last couple of weeks, I in turn am making myself available as well. I’m proud of this (seemingly) single corner of the internet that’s not ruled by foul-mouthed three year old sociopaths with megaphones. In nearly ten years of running this site, I’ve fielded maybe three comments from assholes. In the entire history of the internet, this has to be a record, but perhaps maybe it’s a matter of getting as good as you give.

We are a unique community, and unfortunately, beyond the confines of this environment, the care we show to one another is a rarity. I want for us to utilize this gift, and if anyone, anywhere who is reading these words ever needs a boost, to be propped up, or talked down- Please, use me, and use us as a resource.

As I’ve said many times over the past month in response to the passing query of ‘how’s it going?’

One foot in front of the other, and both above the dirt.

Sometimes when stuck in one of those valleys, moving forward with at least one step at a time is the most heroic thing we can achieve.

Spread this like it's sick

Leave a Reply

7 Responses to “One foot in front of the other.”

  1. Sue February 26, 2019 at 7:59 am #

    Coming into the light from the dark always makes the light seem brighter. ??
    Momsue

  2. Devin Curran February 26, 2019 at 8:04 am #

    ?

  3. Hewhocannotbenamed February 26, 2019 at 8:09 am #

    If only we lived closer to one another, then I’d take you on a bike ride to get tacos, because tacos cure everything.

  4. Hurltron5000 February 26, 2019 at 8:37 am #

    power to the people. Glad you’re finally seeing some proverbial and literal sun; there is absolutely none of it in the frozen wasteland of Minneapolis, and corporate rock still sucks. xoxo.

  5. Madi Carlson February 26, 2019 at 9:15 am #

    <3

  6. Bill Strickland February 28, 2019 at 5:47 am #

    Hey, courage.

  7. Scott M Balay March 12, 2019 at 10:19 am #

    Maybe we should add

    Praise Mephistopheles
    Respect Yourself

    Heal well brother!