My Stumbling Path of a Journey Called Life

“I’m thankful for my struggle because without it I wouldn’t have stumbled across my strength”—Alex Elle

Recently I was talking on the phone to an old friend about having to replace my septic system and she said “you always have the worst luck”. Her words stunned me for a moment because all my life I have believed that I have had great luck. I didn’t know how to respond because in my head, I am the luckiest person I know. But yet, I haven’t been able to get those words out of my mind. I have been questioning it all for weeks. I keep finding myself pondering over those six words. I started questioning if I was in some sort of “bad luck” denial?  Do I have bad luck? Am I imagining that I am a lucky person?  Should I not go to Foxwoods???

The more I thought about every bad experience I have had in life and made myself a mental list (that was longer than my kids Christmas list) of all the things that I have “stumbled” over. I realized that every stumble even the ones that were more like a giant push that left me flat on my face have brought me where I am meant to be. Had I been blessed with a silver spoon in my mouth vs. a plastic Dixie spoon I wouldn’t have ever struggled financially . Struggling financially is what has me here today writing on my own national website.  My struggles have landed me a book deal and well over the average five minutes of fame. None of that would have happened had I not struggled.  My struggle has given me a voice, one that I never thought I would find or have had the courage to use. It has pushed me down a path that has made me let go of my extreme fear of public speaking and given me a passion to help others help themselves. To me that is incredibly lucky.

 I believe everything happens for a reason. You may not know the reason in advance  but if you embrace the stumbles and look for the light at the end of the tunnel you will be able to see yourself in a new light. Each path that I have went down whether right or wrong has led me to where I am today, and for that I am grateful. If you see yourself as an unlucky person you will become one. If you fill your mind with negative thoughts you will reap what you sow. I think everyone has their fair share of stumbling in life but that is how we grow to become the person we were meant to be. I now embrace the stumbles because they are how I will find my strengths.

So if you ask me if I have bad luck my answer will be no! I am extremely lucky and grateful for this stumbling path of a journey called life.  I am still not sure where this costly new septic system will take me. But I can rest assure knowing it is done and  that I no longer have to worry about the shit hitting the fan (literally) while it backs up throughout the house!  For that reason alone I am extremely lucky! Because I rather stumble any day then clean up that mess!