And there you are....

What you see and hear depends a good deal on where you are standing; it also depends on what sort of person you are. ~ C.S. Lewis The Magician's Nephew

When I was little, my friends and I used to play in the creek that ran behind the neighborhood. It was always an adventure as we made our way through the deep grass and down the steep banks to the rushing water below. We dared each other to leap from boulder to boulder, cheering the victors like gold medal winners in the Olympics. I re-visited that same creek not too long ago. The grass didn't seem as long as I remembered and the banks weren't as steep. The biggest disappointment though was the boulders. No longer giant slabs of granite, they had become ordinary, grey stones that were easy to walk across with minimal effort. It’s simple to cite perception as the reason for the drastic differences. So how do you explain it in reverse?

 

Lately I've noticed that it's almost effortless for me to deal with situations & emotions in front of others. I switch into "fix it" mode. No matter how large or painful the issue, it becomes as insignificant as the rocks in the creek. Crisis averted. Disaster avoided and all is fine, until I am alone. In my solitude, the thoughts and feelings I pushed away come crashing back like waves in a storm. No longer insignificant they pull at my heart, catching it in an undertow of emotion and I struggle to swim back to the safety of shore.

 

Which is real: big or little, strong or fragile? Maybe neither one, maybe both.