To be NOT ok.

First of all, I must say that I applaud bravery and perseverance. When people tell me I’m doing well or say, ‘you just get on with it,’ it makes me want to prove them right. Often I move away from the uncomfortable focus on my bad health by saying, ‘sure, I’m still on my feet’. It is vital to look for the positives in life, and the only way to survive when things are tough. I’ve seen and heard so many people courageously overcoming obstacles with sheer grit and real hope.

However. Sadly. There are times when we can’t ‘beat’ cancer or ‘get through’ covid. I don’t know if those sayings are used as a shield or a coping mechanism but in time, they just don’t cut it. When I heard that language being used both by Boris Johnson and more recently by Trump, I was alarmed. I know it’s crucial for their political career to never lose, to never show weakness, but what if they don’t? What if is this is bigger than them?

Is it time for us to be strong enough to acknowledge and cope with weakness? There are moments when I want to stop walking and sit down. I love feeling like everyone else but the truth is, I’m not like them. And they are not like anyone else either. Beneath the brave smiles and the ‘I’m fine’ disguises, there are people who are afraid to show they are broken. They will use the cross-stitch clichés to make you feel better, but what they really need is someone to get down into the depths with them and just.be.there.

I do hope that Trump recovers, but before that, I hope he is uncharacteristically honest about what he’s going through. You never know, it might change him too?

See? Stubborn optimism is alive and well.

It keeps me on my wobbly feet.