Swallowing Frogs

Watching television the other night, I saw a show on the crazy activities people  will take part in to attain their goals. A downcast brunette woman came on and explained that her doctors had told  her she had a million in one chance of conceiving.After trying In vitro and every imaginable medical intervention, she turned to the ancient medicine of her Peruvian village. 

The cameras  followed her as she walked around the open air market, staring at pregnant women  and lamenting her fate until she strode up to a booth behind a sign that read,  “Jugo de Rana,” translated as “Frog Juice.”Speaking Spanish, she told the woman behind the counter from that day  forward, she would be coming to the booth so the woman was to make her a  smoothie to sate her needs.

At first, as I watched the  show I was amazed at the behavior of the woman.Who in their right mind would drink blended frogs?Can one be so desperate to make their dreams  come true that they would turn to something so vile? 

And then I thought of my own  life and the lives of my friends.On  more occasions than I care to count, I have seen people pour their bodies and  souls into projects/jobs/relationships and have been left beaten and betrayed  with nothing to show for the pain they have endured to gain the fame/wealth/love  they so desired. 

One day, the brunette woman  from Peru brought her husband to the booth and forced him to drink the green,  gelatinous sludge.As he was about to  take a sip, she looked at him and said:“Drink it fast.Otherwise, you  will taste the bones.” 

His face pinched with disgust as he poured the  concoction into his mouth.

Then it struck me.In some point in everyone’s life, there is a  goal we want more than anything.It may  be to get pregnant.It may be to find  our perfect mate.To make this dream  come true we must have one thing…Faith.We must close our eyes and swallow the frogs and blindly hope that the  sacrifice we are making will mean success.We must savor the distaste of the bones, for those bones are part of the  price we must pay.

Faith does not mean we will succeed. However, it does  mean we have tried.We have believed in  ourselves, when no else does—when the doctor’s say ‘a million in one chance.’

At the end of the show, the woman and her husband were walking in  the park.In front of them, was a  stroller.Frogs, Faith, and Bones had  brought their dream to life.

The Knock of Life

"It takes ten times as long to put yourself back together as it does to fall apart."-Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games Trilogy

There are times in everyone's life where the simplest course of action is to fall apart, seek shelter between the sheets of self-pity, and escape from the blows life seeks to deliver.  It is all too easy to allow oneself to avoid conflict, run away from the difficulties that are a part of living.

A great place to start a story is to ask the question: "What if?"

So I ask, what if you give into this urge?  Does life become easier if you wallow in your misfortune?  Do your trials end because you don't face them?  More often than not, the answer is a resounding "no."  In fact, in most cases you have only made the situation worse.  The conflicts likely have grown, escalating and beginning to impact other people's lives.

Either directly or tangently, your inaction will affect others.

When life is knocking at the door, you must answer.  You must react in a way that keeps you healthy and makes you stronger.  If there are unpleasant phone calls or emails that must be made, you must push down your inner-procrastinator and let the fall out begin.  Often, the reaction you receive will not be the one you expected, but again you must react positively.

Make a change in your life.

Look at your life, what is the primary thing that makes you want to retreat into your safety zone?  What makes you fall apart?  Is the cause something you can change?  If there is, how can you change your life for the better?  Imagine "what if..."

We all slip into moments of self-pity, but don't let these moment stop you from making a difference in your own life.  It is ten times harder to pick yourself up from the pits of despair than it is to remain positive and answer the knock of life.