try the easy route.

somewhere at the intersection of the rain washing over me and finding my rhythm in my third mile I began to smile. You don’t have to suffer. It was so clear, so simple yet so profound. Oh gosh, I don’t have to suffer! I tapped my fingers to the rhythm of my run, began to breathe deeper yet lighter. The colors of the trees seemed brighter and I breathed it all in– all the love, creativity and ease– and I exhaled suffering, at all cost.

I ran repeating that in my head, rhythmically. just cause you’ve got grit, doesn’t mean you have to suffer, try the easy route. just cause you’ve got grit, doesn’t mean you have to suffer, ride the wings of change. even my stride became more graceful, the rain felt more pleasant as it hit my brow. by the way, it’s a haiku 🙂 but what does it even mean?

grit(n): courage and resolve, strength of character, fortitude, courage in pain or adversity

grit(v): clench (the teeth), especially in order to keep one’s resolve when faced with an unpleasant or painful duty.

I believe grit is a gift, developed over time. It’s admirable, it’s a trait I desire to see in others and a way of being that I default to often. It can get tricky, when you’ve developed true grit you have also developed a level of tolerance for things, situations, people and circumstances that may not serve you. What you are actually doing is suffering. You suffer through but for you and your true grit it does not necessarily feel like suffering, you are just doing what you know to do– resolving.

You are free to try an easier route, listen to your emotions and intuition when something is out of whack. Notice when something is requiring a level of energy that results in depletion. Notice when you find yourself pushing really, really hard to resolve, consider that you are suffering and decide in that moment if you want to suffer. You may be a masochist, and that’s ok as long as you’re conscious of it. If you’re not a masochist then ask yourself how suffering benefits you, if it doesn’t try an easier route. If you are suffering through an inevitable change, surrender and ride the wings of change. Ride the wings of change? Yup, don’t push. Flow. You know when you’re pushing or forcing an outcome, in those moments surrender, take a deep breath, say a prayer, go for a walk, do something to shift the energy for your own sake. And I’ll say it one more time, in closing. YOU DON’T HAVE TO SUFFER!

Xx