Up from the Ashes

I took a shower. I feel semi-human again.

In the shower I thought about all the people that had to overcome worse adversity than mine. I asked myself what the second act of my life was going to be like. I decided it'd be better to be happy, healthy and fit at 40, than never. It may take a while, but I can come out of this pit. It's easy to be glib and cynical when it comes to "inspirational" stories. They just don't fit the hipster paradigm. However, I don't care about cool anymore. I'd rather be content than cool any day. So, I will think about people who have come back from a devastating illness or accident, or achieved a remarkable life despite a serious "disability," or tragic beginnings in life.

I still have all my limbs, all my senses, and most of my wits about me. That's more than many other heroes and heroines started out with. I need to use what I have to my best advantage; to keep looking at what I do have, rather than what I lack.

I don't know why it is that I need to go down into the pit and hit bottom before coming back up, but it is my way when things reach a point of unbearable pain. Perhaps I can improve my turn around time in the future. I'm coming out of it now though, and for the moment, that's all that matters.