It’s March Forth day, friends. That’s not a typo, and it is a pretty good homonym. It’s also known as Do Something Day.
When my son was 9, we went on an epic vacation to Walt Disney World in Florida. In the gardens surrounding the Mad Tea Cups ride, there is a sign that says “Keep Moving Forward — Walt Disney”. I took a picture of it because that’s the kind of thing I like to record, but Child saw me do it and recognized it as the thread through one of his (then) favourite Disney movies – Meet the Robinsons. It became something of an affirmation for me for a while – I set the picture as the background on my laptop’s display. I was working a job that wasn’t good for me. It wasn’t a good fit for my skills and it was eroding my confidence and mental and physical health, but I didn’t feel confident enough to just quit. Eventually, my ability to stay afloat there failed spectacularly, and I was let go. I slept better that night than I had in perhaps months.
That photo is lost to the sands of time and old technology now, but I think about that sign (and that quote) often.
It’s not easy to keep moving forward. After you’ve been kicked in the teeth by a relationship or a career situation or a health scare, striding confidently into the future feels impossible. And even if you haven’t been kicked in the teeth, the disappointments and irritations of life can pile up until it feels like death by a thousand papercuts.
There’s another affirmation that I have in my goal journal: If you can’t fly, run. If you can’t run, walk, and if you can’t walk, crawl. Which, now that I think about it, sounds a whole lot like Keep Moving Forward. A friend of mine, years ago when he was a principal, talked about how to move forward in faith you needed a healthy mind, a healthy body, and a healthy spirit. That was his guiding principle as a leader – to encourage a growth mindset in those three pillars amongst his staff and his students. I’m using that method as my guide as well.
So, friends, I’m taking some time today to look at aspects of my mind, body and spirit that maybe need a shove forward. There’s always somewhere to level up.
Extra Credit:
I’ve created landing pages for the last 3 years of Lent Project. You can access them from the Reflections Projects option in the menu bar. Happy reading, friends!
Sweary Parent Chronicles 