Setbacks

This past week, I suffered a blow to the goals I had set up for the month of October. I had made plans to walk at least a mile every single day of the month and that goal has already been setback unintentionally.

I came down with a head cold.

It’s amazing how a simple little virus can knock me flat in almost no time. This past Sunday, I felt a bit run down (and in a great deal of pain from a full body flare-up due to my Ehler-Danlos Syndrome) but chalked it up to having had a very exhausting weekend. But by Monday night, I was practically so worn out I could barely keep my eyes open and I needed the rest. I called in to the full time job on Tuesday as a result and spent that day on the couch.

I haven’t done much walking since. On the plus side, I have gotten a bit caught up on my reading goals and spent some of the time writing some of my works in progress and planning out a bit of the NaNoWriMo stuff so I can start work on that come the first of November.

I’ve also had a bit of car trouble this week. My trusty almost twenty-year-old van has been having some issues with starting, and on Wednesday I almost got stuck in the parking lot of the full time job. I managed to get home. But a friend determined that my starter is likely on its last legs, and I haven’t driven it since. I do live within walking distance of my workplace, so I braved the cooler weather despite the cold and walked to work the remaining days, catching rides home with the other half on his way home from his much further job. And while we’re getting it to the shop to be repaired today, it is a setback since I’ve got to plan out things like lunch (which I was eating at home on my hour long break) and the like.

But it’s manageable. I read a couple of stories this week while eating lunch at work. And I have had time to rest instead of rushing back and forth on my lunch break. This setback turned out to be a blessing. And while I plan to back up for my adventures and my walking by the end of next week, I am still taking it easy today. This is just a setback. It’s what happens when you make plans. I tend to plan for these kinds of things when I make my dreams.

Setbacks are a part of life. They are a part of any goal or dream. While they can be annoying and a huge disappointment, they don’t have to ruin everything. With a little patience and magic, one can even see the beauty in the setback.

It seems the older I get, the more I become one of those who sees the silver lining in the clouds. It could be raining and I see the water nourishing the ground and refilling the streams. Things happen for reasons we may not see, and I reflect on those reasons quite often. And while my outlook isn’t always sunshine and rainbows, I have learned to see the magic in the moments, even the ones that don’t go as planned or the ones I overthink often.

It’s taken me a while to get to the point where setbacks aren’t earth-shattering. And some still seem that way at times. But there is magic in the moments, no matter how terrible they may seem. There’s adventure, there’s hope, there’s even some joy and love and peace. It’s finding that glimmer in the dark, even if it’s hard to see. Eventually, it’ll be there.

Stay magical.

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