Friday, April 27, 2012

Action 395 - Know Rock Bottom.

I called a friend of mine today. She's moved a pretty good distance away, and I miss her. Today, for whatever reason, she was on my mind, so I called her. Turns out, she is having a bit of a rough time. Her circumstances are her own to share (or not to share), and the specifics aren't important for this action. It's enough to say that she has been feeling down and is struggling a bit to get back on track.

Action 395 - Know Rock Bottom. Or more accurately, know what isn't rock bottom. She has some problems that she needs to sort out, absolutely. But she is nowhere near rock bottom. She still has a home, a car, food on the table, and every opportunity to sort her affairs. She is not homeless, helpless, or friendless.

And that, of course, got me thinking about my own recent descent into darkness. I look back on my life this past December and how everything seemed so overwhelmingly bad. I felt like I was bottoming out. And yet, like my friend, I was nowhere near that depth.

And as we talked about her situation and my own, it became clear that neither one of us would ever be that low. Even if our own situations seemed hopeless, we would still have a strong support system of friends. We would never be out on the street. We would never be hungry. We would never be in a place where we were truly at rock bottom.

That's a pretty powerful realization. Not everyone in this world can say, with certainty, that they have a circle of friends and family that would be there for them in their darkest hours. My friend can say that. And I can say that.

I know rock bottom. And I know I will never be there. That knowledge makes me stronger. And for that, I am grateful and thankful.



(Image courtesy of tj.facinghistory.org.)

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