What happens when you sprain your ankle...

The view as I iced my ankle. Maybe a slow down is in order more often.

This summer I had a firsthand lesson in patience-a big one! I am a pretty motivated lady. I set goals for myself, I have big expectations, I dig in, and I stay active, but this summer I had to shift down to the slow lane on the highway of my daily drive.

I sprained my ankle goofing off-feeling young and fun! It was an uncomfortable way to be brought back to reality and it put the brakes on some of my best laid plans for what I had hoped to get out of the summer.

So.. I worked on my patience. I had to rest. I had to take time off. I had to rethink how I was going to shift my goals and also fight the fear that time off would mean that I couldn't get back into the things that I loved-that I would miss opportunities and have regrets.

I tried a lot of things that didn't really get me any where. Some days I wanted to whine and other days I was sick of waiting to heal and tried "powering though," but neither made the situation go away. All that would make things better was time. Patience.

Resignation was a word that kept coming up. For some reason if felt like resignation steeped in failure, instead of acceptance and understanding. What I hope I can convince myself, is that this happened to present a new word-fortitude= courage in pain or adversity. Courage to face the fears & courage to restart when the time comes. I was in slow gear, but it doesn't mean that I can't put on the gas once it is time to get back into the faster lane. Maybe I need to spend more time looking out the window in the slow lane rather than zooming in and out of traffic as I try to get to my destination.

I have a hard time with personal patience. I feel like I have endless reserves to offer others, but when it comes to myself, I don't extend the same grace. So... this summer was a long test in giving myself more of what I need. Letting things go a bit and having faith that I will be okay.

My ankle is still stiff. It needs some attention and stretching to get me through the day. It just seems to remind me to continue to take care of myself. For now, I have my own personal reminder that I don't need to shift into high gear. A gradual acceleration will make the long journey more enjoyable.

"We didn’t enter life to get it done." -Martha Beck

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