Last week was really tough. On July 3, the world lost a beautiful soul. My friend passed away in what was a quick but unexpected battle with cancer.
When I got the call, I was on my way to Cross Lake, MN for a 4-day weekend. Sunshine, lake life, and zero plans? A perfect recipe for healing.
The car still carrying me towards the cabin, numb with the news, I remembered we bought a new Stand-Up Paddleboard. I’d used one before in Hawaii, but didn’t remember the nuances. I was essentially a new user, and couldn’t wait to get out on the water.
A recent Tarot reading with Lake Asana Wellness taught me that my sun, moon and rising signs are all water signs. Water is an element where I’ve always found joy, comfort, and peace. It heals me.
Through my time spent wobbling on that board, I began to heal my broken heart. While paddling, I learned 3 important life lessons that I’d like to share with you.
1. Fall with intention.
Look, it’s no secret that life is woven with mistakes and successes and all of the emotions that go with them. Similar to the pain of slapping against the water when I fell off the board, I’ve felt pain while falling in life.
But there’s a beautiful strength in falling with intention.
Someone once told me that it’s not the mistakes that define you, it’s how you rise that determines your character. I could have fallen once off of that paddleboard and said “Screw it, I’m done with this!” But instead, I chose to get back up and try again until I did master it.
As is with life, we are allowed a certain amount of time to grieve, and embrace our sadness when life fails us, or when we fail ourselves. It’s important to acknowledge those feelings as a valid part of your process. But once you’re done it’s time to get your board back out on the water, because we control our lives and how we react to the things that happen. If we intentionally give ourselves an opportunity to rise from the ashes, we nurture our growth.
2. Always look to the horizon.
Sometimes, what sits in front of us sucks. Plain and simple. But the more you look down, the more you wobble and the less stable you become.
When we look past what sits at our feet and look forward at the brighter and more promising future, a weight is lifted. As we feel lighter in the silky folds of a calm lake on a warm summer morning, so too will we feel a lightness of mind and body in remembering our life is headed to a brighter sky.
3. Laugh at yourself!
You know the feeling. Something is funny, and it’s maybe embarrassing to laugh at it, but you can’t help but allow those giggles to bubble up from your gut to your cheeks.
Laughter is champagne for the soul – a forever healer. I love to laugh at myself, and let me tell you when I first tried to stand on that paddleboard I was an uncontrollable giggle machine.
It’s kind of beautiful if you think about it, being able to enjoy time with yourself. Finding a reason to laugh in such sorrow, knowing there’s a lighter horizon, being able to stand after a hard fall.
It’s life. And it’s magical.
