This is the second part to my three part blog post which I have entitled The Emancipation Series . Part One discussed the importance of spring cleaning your house i.e your life by trashing the old and embracing the new (Read it here http://thepromisciouspen.wordpress.com/2014/03/28/thou-shall-keep-thy-house-in-order/) however, this article hones in on never becoming so low that you hit rock bottom. I wrote this last year but the brilliant thing about good advice is that it doesn’t have an expiration date. Without further ado, here is Thou Shall Not Hit Rock Bottom.
Life is a pool, just keep swimming – Cristine Edusi
And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I built my life – J. K Rowling
I have never tried to create characters and have them come to life within my posts. I’ve always felt prose alone was enough to communicate the meaning behind the message without having to add any further detail. Yet I want you to meet these characters; say hello to Jessica, Lydia, Kyron, Lawrence and Susan.
Picture Jessica, a university drop out who has amassed debt that she has no way of repaying, given that she in unemployed and unsure about her career options. Now meet Lydia and Kyron, a couple who even without being married have been through it all. For instance Lydia cheats on Kyron, yet Kyron for love’s sake refuses to leave her. Welcome Lawrence, who finds what he believes to be love in the most hopeless of places, yet each time has his heart broken. Finally meet Susan, the single mother with children all under the age of three, who doesn’t remember the last time she had a decent nights sleep or even combed her hair.It is not our place to judge them, but it is essential to understand that each character has hit rock bottom. At this point even their names are insignificant, what matters is their story. In fact remove their names and they become people, people like you and I who sometimes find ourselves sinking without an anchor.
Yet look at how their situations were turned around ( pretend as though you are watching a movie and the subtitles read “10 years later”): Lawrence found love with himself and then progressed to falling in love with a woman that had always been by his side. Jessica envisioned a career for herself, wrote down her plans and made her dreams work. Kyron realising he could not contain Lydia, left her; Lydia realising what she has lost now pursues Kyron (Karma is a female dog isn’t she?). Susan reached out to her family, after living in isolation for so long after the birth of her last child and began sleeping for 8 hours every other night when her children were with her mother. She also bought a comb, and subsequently found herself a boyfriend (I would argue that there is a correlation between combing your hair and finding a boyfriend. I’m currently in the process of writing my thesis on this now. Only joking.)
I only put names to the problems so it would be easier to identify with the characters but my point is problems are universal. I have no doubt that there will be tears but I also know there will be joy and laughter IF you are are willing to rise. Like Jessica, Lydia, Kyron, Lawrence, Susan and so many other people in the world. you too shall rise and wave goodbye to rock bottom. In fact you will take those rocks with you and when offshore you will use those rocks to build.
Love Cris x
Life is a pool, just keep swimming – Cristine Edusi.