“Just because someone stumbles it doesn’t mean they are lost forever,” XMen Days of Future Past.  When we are present and take chances, that doesn’t always mean we will get it right—and it doesn’t always mean the doors will open right away. That doesn’t mean it’s a no either.  Life will always throw us curve balls and always surprise us with challenges and opportunities.  We are meant to take those chances presented to us and we are meant to be present.  That doesn’t mean it will always work out perfectly.  Sometimes we have to understand the stumble is part of the lesson we need to learn to keep us on track.  To keep us present and aware of where we are and what we are meant to learn and do and share.  Sometimes that stumble isn’t meant to break us—it is meant to show us what was already broken and how we can fix it or help us discern what needs to be left broken so we can move forward.  A hiccup doesn’t mean something is irreparable. Sometimes it’s meant to turn us a bit so we can see another option. Life is literally all perception. 

The truth is sometimes that stumble turns into a tumble and it can feel like we have lost our way forever or that there is no way out.  I’d be lying if I said that it’s easy to see every set back as an opportunity.  But what I do know is that I believe in both sides of the coin: we aren’t lost forever just because of a perceived mistake and sometimes it can take a while to find the way back to where we are meant to be.  We will always find ourselves though as long as we keep looking, as long as we keep going.  What matters most is the belief that we will find our way.  That we have a way to find and that we know we can trust ourselves enough to master our circumstances to get to where we need to be.  We all have the ability to turn our lives into something magical.  We just need to remember our purpose.   How we look at things matters so much more than what actually happens.  They say something like 90% of life is how we respond to it—so that means we can make the most of any circumstance, we just need to be aware of the opportunity.

Life is this alchemical playground where we are meant to take what we are given and turn it into something else.  That means we can transmute our stumbles and pains into lessons we can use for the good of all.  A stumble doesn’t mean all is broken or lost, it means we are given a reason to pause and see if there is another way.  It all becomes a matter of perception.  Those who go the furthest weren’t necessarily the ones with the map—they were the ones who saw another way.  How many stories have we heard about finding a mysterious room or pathway when the character fell?  There are ways that can only be seen when we are on the ground.  Sometimes the only way up is to look down—because when we find ourselves at the bottom, the only way we can go is up.  And I’ve written it before—if we can’t go up or down, we have to learn to go sideways.  It’s an old school mentality that judges someone from their stumbles, that we categorize a stumble as a failure.  No one makes it through this life unscathed.  That is a life unlived.  Any time we ask what the chance is, we are taking a chance that we will turn up a bit worse for wear.  More knowledgeable and further on our path, but marked in a way that will take us further on our path.  Welcome the stumble and the chance to find ourselves, to challenge ourselves, to learn something new.  Love the playground and find that joy in the dance.