I'm still struggling with feelings of inadequacy. I hate looking at other women and seeing how talented and amazing they are and how insignificant and weak I seem in comparison. I think of how far I still have to go and how much I need to learn and some days it feels like a mountain of stairs are looming before me... and I don't know if I have the strength or stamina to make it to the top.
But... this also brought to mind an image of a stairway to heaven, one that we're all traveling and climbing. We're all at different levels of the stairway. Some people may be higher up than others because they started at a higher level, either through good parenting, proper teachings, or even their own innate personality. But others have to struggle from the very bottom, and not necessarily because of anything they did. Each of our journeys start at a certain point on the stairway but we should all be climbing in the same direction.
We aren't all expected to be on the same step or to climb at the same pace. But we are expected to keep climbing, and to reach below us and help lift others to our level as we go. We can't use our parents or circumstances or past as an excuse to give up. We are where we are and we won't get any higher if we don't keep going. And when we see that we've started heading down instead of up, we need to turn around, fix our eyes on the goal, and start climbing again.
I may not be a fast climber but I try to keep a steady pace. Sometimes I have to sit down on a step for a little while and catch my breath before I take the next one. Sometimes I have to look back and see how far I've come and know that I don't want to go back.
It's encouraging to know that the path is marked and there will be help along the way. It's just up to me to keep climbing. My goal is at the top and I know that it's going to be good.
4 comments:
Nicely put!!! Neat analogy!! ....as always!!
I love your analogy! OK, so, next time you are taking a break and catching your breath, just wait a little longer please. I'll try to catch up with you. You are always so far ahead of me. I want to be just like you.
I love this analogy. There is a lot of hope in the idea that it's okay to sit down for an occasional breather, and especially that our speed is irrelevant to the climb. Regardless of where we entered the staircase, we need to climb upward toward our goal.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts! As always, they help me gain/maintain hope, courage and perspective.
As a escalator kind of girl, I am so with you on this one. (as always!)
Thing is, so many people feel this way about YOU! You are amazing and HAVE come so far. We need the eternal perspective, but not dwell too much on how far we have to go to get there. There are so many that are ahead of us who are willing to lend us a hand to lift us up a step or two and we are always willing to do the same when we may be a step ahead of someone else. That is how it is supposed to be. But, as women, we tend to never feel good enough more often then not.
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