Emotional fortitude through facing reality (Part 1)
The following two-part articles were written a few years ago for publishing on my linkedin about facing reality. Due to the intended audience being non-Christian professionals in the marketplace, the article format will be different from the usual devotional.
“You need to face reality.” My mom whispered. I was shaking my head and had tears streaming down my face, I was just 8 years old.
The strap of my prosthetic leg was broken, and I couldn’t use it. My mom was standing beside me, holding a pair of my crutches, she continued, “you need to get home using the crutches and later I will take your prosthetic leg to the hospital to have it fixed”.
Reluctantly, I took my crutches, hanging my head, I averted my gaze from passers-by paralyzed with fear and so ashamed of my disability. I was afraid, afraid of how people would look at me, crippled with fear and trying everything I could to hide my disability.
Until, at 21 years old, I was awakened by the honest words spoken by a friend. “When you walk with a prosthesis, you walk differently; you cannot avoid attracting people’s attention, why not choose something you feel comfortable with?”
Finally, I had the courage to face the reality. The 5 kg prosthetic leg that I was lugging around, was not helping me to move forward but a mere bondage, a disguise. I knew my true self, I wanted to be free, I wanted to dress like the other girls and visit places just like everyone else.
I knew that using my crutches would bring me freedom and give me the mobility that my prosthetics lacked. One night, I steeled myself and ventured out, exposing my one leggedness to the world (or so it felt).
My biggest fear was how people would look at me, but the reality? No one really cared. I could have had one leg or three, people simply walked on by. That’s when It dawned on me, the truth that: Once you expose your “shame” to the light, it loses its ability to hold any power over you.
Fast forward a few years, I am now, proudly, recognisable as the one “legged lady” walking around with crutches. I am thankful that I had, within me, the ability to overcome my low self-image through this transformation.
However, life as it is, hasn’t stopped hitting me with other setbacks and disappointments. As a business owner, I can resonate with the struggles of building a business from navigating tremendous uncertainties and fierce competition to the often crippling and daunting task of making decisions.
The pain is real, this is reality. We cannot avoid pain and there is no shortcut to overcoming or minimizing the pain we feel. But we can build our emotional muscles with the strength and courage to face the reality. Part 2 will discuss how authenticity and vulnerability strengthen us.
