One day, it clicks: they should try this trend too. They pull themselves up and find their balance. Then they step out, moving one leg gingerly ahead of the other. The wind is different when you’re standing—there’s a fight to regain balance. *Plop* as they fall to the ground, protected by a padded bottom. They look to the grownups for hints on how to react. No gasps or squeals of fear? They’ll try again.
The brochure advertised a hapkido demonstration. Having never even heard of this before, I was excited to learn more about this martial art. They started with warmups. Their first move? Practicing how to break a fall.
Think about the last time you fought hard to regain your balance after stumbling in a public place. Why is it always in a public place?! You flail your arms, and are willing to drop your purse and other items, as long as you stayed upright. But if we could see ourselves from a balanced person’s perspective at that moment? Sometimes it’s safer to fall. How many backs have been tweaked and coffees spilt in an effort to save face?
I think it’s safe to presume that no one likes to fall. It’s awkward and often painful. In fact, we do everything possible to avoid a fall. But sometimes our efforts to stay upright cause more harm than we realize. We try to maintain a certain appearance in the eyes of others. We think we go unnoticed if we trip or stumble. Just as long as we don’t fall, we’ll be okay.
Yet it’s often those stories of the near-misses that are hot topics around the water cooler. There are strangers laughing at us, retelling of our stumbles with greatly exaggerated dramatic flair. Sometimes we’re better off falling. Yes, it can be humiliating, mostly to our pride. We may have a bruise here and there.
But it’s also humbling. We can only look up when we’re at the bottom.
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I’m linking up today with Lisa-Jo. You’re invited to join us too.