“What I have learned from all of the difficulties in my own life is that human beings have very thick skin. I call that skin, spirit, our Highest Most Powerful Self. Spirit is the key to everything we desire. It is our weather-proofing, our Teflon, our line of credit that assures if we keep putting one foot in front of the other, one day; there will be a miraculous payoff.” Iyanla Vanzant

There are those people. You look at the path they have travelled and you marvel at how they were able to make it through, land on their feet, without bitterness or anger. You look at their lives and you wonder whether you would have been able to survive. I was raised by such an individual. When I look back over his life, I often wonder whether I would have been able to do half the things that he has done. Then I get people looking at my life and asking me how I navigated a particular phase or experience. It always reminds how we all have stories, none better or worse, simply hours.

But, having had the opportunity to hear Iyanla Vanzant expand on the thought expressed above, I try to live by the “one-foot-in-front-of-the-other” life philosophy. Often, when stuck in a rut, it is hard to see the way out beyond the shadow of the mountain or molehill up ahead. And, focusing on that can be demoralising and downright depressing. When that happens, I have found that when you focus simply on putting one foot in front of the other, and repeating, there comes a time when you discover, upon looking up, that you have trudged your way out of the darkness.

We can be wonderfully resilient, us human beings. We find the strength to overcome so much and build so much amidst the negativity and tragedy that we create. When you feel that strength is slipping away, focus on “one foot in front of the other”.

As Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.“