“It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it.”
~Lena Horne

This quote was one of my favorite parts of the 83rd Annual Academy Awards.  As soon as I saw it appear on screen it resonated deeply with me.  The wisdom in that one sentence is remarkable.

The great truth of it is, in life we are all faced with challenges and hardships.  It isn’t perfect, and not every occurrence is easy to wrap your head around, but with each experience you have the incredible choice of how to carry it.  It is common knowledge that if you lift a heavy load improperly, without bending your legs, squatting down, and keeping your back as straight as possible you run a much greater risk for injuring yourself.  Some injuries can cause damage that last a lifetime.

Similarities can be made with carrying an emotional load.  Instead of trying to control every situation that we simply cannot, we instead accept that part of living means we will have struggles, we will tumble, and at times have to face intense pain, but we can go on.  We can grow, breathe through, and thrive.

You can let the loads that are a part of living the gift of life weigh you down, and injure you for a lifetime, or you can face them head on.  Stand close to the load you must carry.  Center yourself, and become stronger in the process.  Approach the loads in life with love and peace in your heart and an open mind.  Accept what you can’t change and know that you ALWAYS have the choice of how to carry them, and whether they will make you stronger or break you down. 

“To be fully human is... to know that it’s possible to face the unimaginable and somehow put one foot in front of the other.”  ~Oprah