Get Up
“Get up! You must get up. Get up. Get up!” It didn’t matter that it was a deer from my favorite animated Disney film uttering this fierce challenge, as a six year old I was riveted. The voice of the old stag was deep, urgent, and authoritative. Despite the pain that Bambi found himself in, it was imperative that he not give up and get up. Years later, when I was a bit older and had moved on from Disney movies, I found myself equally enthralled as I watched a character named Rocky Balboa get up again, and again, and again when he was knocked out in the ring. I think these two film moments rattled around in my heart until I needed them; until I was the one who faced life circumstances so overwhelming that getting up again became the only, daily goal.
There are circumstances we will all encounter in life that are daunting and completely out of our control. Maybe you learn that the headaches you’ve been having are indicative of a larger problem or perhaps one of your parents loses their job and you have to leave the place you’ve always called home. Or maybe you deal with depression, the PTSD of a family member, or school always feeling like a battle you are losing. Whatever situation you find yourself in, I think one of the most important lessons we can learn is to keep getting up.
Let me be clear, to get up doesn’t mean you don’t take the time to grieve. It doesn’t mean that you can’t spend an entire day or two hiding in your room. It just means that however it looks for you, don’t give up on yourself. That last part is key. It’s perfectly acceptable to walk away from certain people, places, or activities but ourselves? No way. We’ve got to get back up. And getting up can look like telling someone about what you’re dealing with, or it can look like writing about it. It could mean deciding to see a therapist or to get out of bed and face the day by putting one foot in front of the other.
As the comedian, Brett Goldstein, summarized in an episode of his incredible podcast “Films to be Buried With”, I think most of us forget that Rocky doesn’t win the match at the end of that first film. What matters is that he goes the distance, that he keeps getting up after he gets hit, again and again. I’d point to my favorite childhood Disney film in the same way. Do we remember that a careless forest fire spreads and burns everything away toward the end of that one? It’s massive scale destruction and no, nobody swoops in to stop it or magically save the day (we’re definitely spoiled with that in the newer Disney films).
That’s real life. Sometimes you don’t win the fight. Sometimes the whole forest burns. But you know what? Those ashes have the unique ability to nourish new growth. And as long as you don’t give up on yourself, as long as you get up one more time, that’s ultimately what counts.
Challenges/Points:
Getting back up doesn’t seem very flashy, but it’s one of the most important things we can learn how to do.
When we choose to keep getting up, we choose not to give up on ourselves.
We can’t control what happens to us in life but we can control how we respond.
Questions:
Have you ever lived through something that made you think about not getting back up?
What does getting back up mean to you?
What’s something or someone that inspires you to go on when things are difficult?
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