Sometimes we find inspiration in the oddest of places—I’ve learned not to judge and simply to take the lesson, it doesn’t matter the form or where it comes from.  My husband and I are behind the times when it comes to TV so we have just recently started watching “Shameless.”  Stick with me on this, I know the show has incredibly disturbing and triggering content, but there is merit to it. While this family is clearly stuck in destructive patterns and survival mode, constantly doing questionable and outright illegal things, and fighting against different demons (alcoholism and other addictions, systems designed to keep them down, and sick people taking advantage/intimidating etc.), they stand together for the most part.  They always find ways to resolve their issues—and they have major issues.  Not that they don’t deal with consequences on some level (major and minor consequences), but for the most part, they are able to find ways to solve their issues.  It doesn’t matter what it is, they support each other without question and find a way to fix the issue. They find a way to get it done, whatever it is.  Now, I want to be clear I do NOT consider their behavior something to emulate, but the tenacity and drive certainly is.

I’ve been talking the last few days about filling our plate, making decisions, and letting go of unnecessary burdens but this topic of creative problem solving is important.  Just like I’ve been saying, we need to get clear, fill our plate with right action, and let go of what isn’t ours.  The Gallagher family is certainly not living ahead of themselves, they are often reactive, but the important part is that they know how to come around even the most difficult situations and they don’t stop until they achieve the results they’re looking for (paying the bills, finding a body, ultimately finding stable care for the kids, etc.).  They have huge odds against them all the time both inflicted from the system and self-induced, but they constantly find a way to rise to the occasion even in the most unorthodox of ways.  Any one of the issues they face would be enough to break anyone down or at least stop them in their tracks.  This group of people constantly keeps moving forward and very rarely feel sorry for themselves. 

The point is that life isn’t always smooth—it isn’t necessarily meant to be—but there are so many ways to resolve issues.  We don’t need to live in a box, we don’t need to carry the burden alone, and we certainly don’t nee to be steering two ships at once.  We simply need to look at our options and decide.  We need to decide that we continue forward in spite of anything against us, we need to settle on the direction we are going, and we need to take the actions necessary to get us where we are going.  Most importantly, we need to see that life isn’t always black and white and what works for some many not work for all.  We each have unique paths and each path comes with different burdens designed to strengthen us.  There is always more than one way to get results and we can often resolve issues when we step outside of the box—we just need the drive and resolve to do it.  Life keeps moving regardless of what we choose to do.  We can move forward and try something else or we can wallow where we are.  Sitting there doesn’t get us anywhere and as long as we are alive and able, we can figure it out through moving forward.