"If it can't get any worse, give it one last shot. Wait until the wind blows in your favor."
- Enrique Bunbury from the song El Viento A Favor
When I was a teenager, my family and I went to the beach here in Southern California. The water seemed calm so my nephew and I went in the water walking and walking until the water was barely covering our belly buttons. The water wasn't too shallow that day because there were many people still in front of us, at least 30-40 feet further away. So, my nephew and I kept going deeper in the ocean. After only taking a few steps forward, my feet weren't touching the bottom of the ocean any more. I couldn't understand why if there were still so many people ahead of us, so I though I might have stepped on a spot that had a hole or something. The waves came and were pulling me more and more into a section where my feet couldn't touch the ground. I looked around and I saw people close to me where the water only went up to their chest. Why was this happening to me? I glanced at my nephew and although the water was up to his neck, he seemed super calm.
The waves kept coming and kept taking me with them. This time, I was really struggling. The lifeguard got up from his seat and looked at me for a while. I wasn't sure whether to wave him down and ask for help or just wait until this passes by. The lifeguard probably thought I was playing around because no one else was in trouble. The time seemed to go on forever and I began to swallow the ocean's water. I kicked and kicked and nothing. I was too tired and the waves were too strong. I was so tired that now I couldn't wave my hand to ask for help so I was about to say goodbye to the world and drown. Finally, I decided to give it one last shot and out of nowhere I got this burst of energy to kick as fast as I could. I almost felt like an angel came to my rescue and put me in safe waters.
After kicking my life away, I was able to touch the bottom of the ocean and, without looking back, I walked out of the water and dropped my body to the sand. My nephew followed behind me.
Out of breath, I said to my nephew, "You're not going to believe what just happened to me!" I gasped for air to continue. "I was actually drowning this whole time...I couldn't touch the floor...I was drowning!"
I looked over at my nephew and my nephew responded, "Really? Me too!" My nephew, also gasping for air explained how he went through the same experience I went through. He even said that when he looked at me, I looked so calm and the water was only up to my neck. We were both drowning together and we didn't even know it.
Sometimes we might feel like we're drowning. We might be struggling with our marriage, at work, with our kids or with money and it seems like a never ending story. We think about how we got into a mess in the first place, regret our choices but still continue to struggle. Then, when it seems that things can get better, they actually get worse.
Many times, you might think others don't have troubles or issues, but they might be struggling in their own way too. It's never a bad time to lend a hand, or to reach out to someone to see how they're doing. Like the story of my funny near-death experience, you never know what others are going through unless you ask.
No matter what you might be going through right now, whatever struggles keep you up at night, don't give up. Stay the course. Keep your hopes up. Pray. Ask for help. Whatever you do, don't call it quits. Everything will be OK in the end and you'll have a great story to tell. You don't get strength by having an easy life, you get stronger by persevering through life's challenges. Don't give up.
Don't forget to share this blog so you can encourage others: family, co-workers, friends. Give them something to get motivated! You never know what they might be going through. A few words of encouragement can go a long way.
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