Have you ever been in that place in life where continuing forward seems like something that’s too difficult to surmount? If you have, then you’re not alone as I too have felt that way so many times throughout my life, especially in the past three years. There is a piece of irony though that always seems to come during those times and it usually arises at the precise moment when I’m really beginning to question whether my Higher Power has totally forgotten about me. What is that irony? It’s the fact that something always seems to come along my way to inspire me to keep going and not give up.
I’m not lying when I tell you that the idea of giving up is something that I’ve thought about frequently over the past year. If you’ve been reading any of my earlier posts, then you’ll know by now that I’ve been enduring chronic pain and have had little relief from it for quite awhile. Doctors, science, and medicine were unable to do anything for it except to offer me some pills to try to numb the pain. But I made the choice almost two years ago now to walk a path free from all of those pills and maintain the belief that my Higher Power will deliver me through and beyond this pain. Sometimes this decision really challenges my sanity, mainly when my pain levels remain heightened for days or weeks on end. But it is definitely true, at least in my case, that something always seems to come along to inspire me to keep going just when I feel like I can’t possibly care about living life anymore.
Today, happened to be one of those days where the thing to inspire me was a movie titled “All Is Lost” and starred only one person for its entire running time. While it’s not based upon a true story, the film is a gripping and almost completely silent tale of a man played by Robert Redford, who is lost at sea and battles one tragedy after enough until it appears he’s lost everything and has nothing left to live for. As I sat and watched him lose one thing after another, I squirmed in my seat thinking of my own life and how I’ve felt a lot like that in recent times. I began questioning why I came to see such a depressing movie given how I’ve been feeling lately, and that’s when the moment arrived where I was suddenly inspired to keep going. As the character Redford was playing cashed in his remaining chip in a last ditch effort to be saved from perishing at sea, it appeared to him it was done to no avail. But as he began to let go and let the ocean become his final resting place, his rescue arrived.
My Higher Power has rescued me time and time again during so many moments of my life where I have started to let go and follow in the footsteps of my father’s tragic demise. Living with constant chronic pain of any kind is something I would not wish upon anybody in this world. But for whatever the reason, my Higher Power always seems to know how best to communicate to me when I’m feeling so overwhelmed by that pain and enveloped in too much darkness. And it always seems to appear in the weirdest of ways, like it did with this movie “All Is Lost”.
If you are like me and suffering with any type of pain right now in life whether it’s spiritual, mental, emotional, or physical, please take a moment, breathe, and know you are not alone. It’s my hope and prayer that these words might become your inspiration to keep going through your own trials and tribulations. My Higher Power hasn’t abandoned me yet and I know that yours won’t either. So remember, just for today, that “All Isn’t Lost”.
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson