You Showed Up

Life is challenging. Every step of the way is like navigating a labyrinth; you never know where to turn. You could feel like you're making progress some days and completely stalled out on others. The burden of obligations, anticipations, and underlying anxieties might be too much to bear. But look at you—you're still turning up.

You appear exhausted. With a restless mind, the nights seem to go on forever. You obsess over details and fret about things you can't change. You start to value sleep highly, and you'll do anything to avoid getting out of bed when the alarm goes off. To the contrary, you are not. Seize the day. You get out of bed and face the day regardless of how you're feeling.

Feeling irritated, you turn up. Everything is not going according to plan. You put forth a lot of effort to correct problems, meet deadlines, and satisfy everyone, yet it seems like nobody is paying attention. Unfortunately, not everything you work for in life turns out the way you expect it to. You continue nevertheless. Somehow, you manage to press on.

You seem frightened when you arrive. You are uncertain of the direction you should go in, and the future is filled with the unknown. Everything from your decisions to your skills to your value is under scrutiny. There is always the dread of falling short and letting other people down. Still, you press forth in spite of your fears. You proceed to the next stage.

You turn up when you're low on energy. There will be days when you feel completely depleted of energy. You feel depleted physically and emotionally. When things are tough, you still make time for yourself. If staying alive is your only goal today, you nevertheless manage to get through the day. You tell yourself it's alright to take a break, to stop, to just be.

Not just that, you're there for other people. Being present for the people you care about is something you do no matter how tough things get. When people need to speak, you listen. When they're confused, you reassure them. When you want to brighten someone else's day, you set aside your own misery. Your resilience and generosity are on display, even if it might be challenging at times.

Even if you don't think it's important, just being present is a huge deal. It's more than merely following the rules or acting in accordance with expectations. It takes bravery to just show up. When the going gets tough, it shows that you aren't giving up.

Pause for a second and appreciate what you've accomplished. You persist in showing up despite the exhaustion, annoyance, anxiety, and loneliness. In your own name. Some people. In the expectation that circumstances will improve.

No need to feel bad if you don't know everything. Your journey is far from over; you have much more to learn, develop, and discover. Despite the fact that things won't improve immediately, continuing to show up each day demonstrates your determination.

Therein lies power. That takes courage. There you are.