Exactly four years ago (I write this at 3:15pm)  our world changed. We first reached on Facebook and saw a “global family” grow right before our eyes!

So, dear GRIT tribe, I wanted to share with you my post from today February 19, 2020 on our Schuy is the Limit page. May it help YOU to feel “even more alive” and full of wonder:

Hello, dear wonderful global family! Sigh…February 19th…Today is a day of pensive awe and deep emotion, yet not without mountains of gratitude.

I woke up in the same place I woke up four years ago — physically at least, because so many things in our lives have changed so profoundly. Four years ago today, I had no idea of the life changing impact the next few hours would bring.

Yes, at 3:15pm on this day four years ago I go “the call” — the call telling me that sweet Schuy had been struck by the boulder and that her injuries were so severe that they were not sure that she would live.

Four years ago yesterday, there was no hint of what was to come. No warning signs. No whispers in the ear to make the most of the day because your life is about to change. Only blue skies, adventure and a world that beckoned the soul to come out and play.

Yes, it struck me several days ago that even in the prelude to this journey, Schuyler and I were profoundly blessed.

There are those who face these sorts of dramatic injuries and life changes having never truly felt like they actually “lived” beforehand. They had spent their earlier days consumed in fear or doubt or anger or eternal “preparation” for the moment when they would feel safe enough to dive in.

Not Schuyler.

Four years ago yesterday, Schuyler was helmeted up, strapped in and rappelling her way down the side of a mountain which (oh by the way) also happened to be a waterfall. She was singing, laughing and her heart was on fire. With one of her great friends at her side, she was living her life fulling. With every breath, she was coming even more alive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOQCxaf2WZ0&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WeI-aDf1OE&feature=youtu.be

Meridith and Schuy!
As I walked outside a few days ago soaking those memories in, it struck me that it’s no wonder that this boulder could not kill her. When we are so fully and completely alive, there truly is a fire that fights to adventure on.

Most of you know me well enough by now to know that I am loathe to use the word “fight” when facing this sort of thing because so often when we use the word “fight”, there is the invisible implication of anger, adversity and even an evil enemy opponent that we are trying desperately to eradicate or overcome.

One thing that I have learned in this adventure is that there is a more profound level of “fight” — one which doesn’t focus so much on the “end” of something unwanted as much as it focuses on the beginning or continuation of something that ignites your soul — the unleashing of a personal knowing and empowerment so rich that it can sustain you even when your physical body temporarily gives out. Even when you have fallen so far that you doubt whether you will ever be able to rise — and yet it’s this life fire that insures that you do.

It’s the life fire that fights on when we are thrust into the role of the reluctant hero — when the dreams that we thought that we so passionately wanted suddenly dull against the flame of an even grander potential. One that would have lain dormant were it not for the many boulders that create chaos and “disrupt” us…

When the caterpillar “fights” its way out of the cocoon, it is not to vanquish and overcome its adversary but rather it fights to have its opportunity to soar with it new miraculous wings…!

So a few days ago, I hugged Schuyler and she laughed. I told her that if she had been fated to have been struck by that boulder and destined to “fight” her way to a new even more powerful flame, I cannot think of a better way to have spent those last 24 hours when her body was deliciously under her willing control.

To have spent that time rappelling down a mountainous waterfall, laughing with friends, sleeping under the stars in a yurt listening to your favorite music and then captaining your “Viking raft” over the whitewaters of Colombia, well…. that’s a profound gift. And THAT’S being purely and vibrantly ALIVE.

Thank goodness she had the true gift of LIFE long before the “accident”.

So do I find myself unusually emotional today? Of course. In some ways — well, honestly in many, many ways, it has been an incredibly difficult four years. And yet in other ways, the gifts… the insights… the wisdom.. the moments that have taken my breath away have been so rich and so profound (a word that I find myself using so often) that I find myself compelled to “fight” on.

Yes, certain things that I had hoped would remain the same or return to something that I might be able to label as “normal” have changed. I would be lying if I didn’t say that there are still days of great fear and great sorrow but to me, the exquisite essence of life at its fullest is the willingness to be vulnerable — because my definition of being vulnerable is to be willing to immerse yourself in life 1000%.

And to believe that the impossible is leading to the “I’m Possible” — and that the beauty of the “I’m Possible” will exceed anything that you would have previously imagined.

It’s the understanding that our evolution is an elegant partnership of forces — a sublime duet between the moments that shake us to the core and the moments that leave us fist bumping and cheering.

In that duality is where the secret to loving and appreciating life truly lies. I do believe that. And I do believe that we have the opportunity to choose to embrace that.

So today on this “anniversary” of the boulder that has taught us so much, I would encourage you to honor the duality in your own life – the two very different dancers that show up on your stage. The beauty of the musical note can only be fully developed when combined by the spaces between those notes. The prima ballerina stays suspended in arabesque thanks to the powerful male dancer who supports her. We live not only thanks to the exhale. We depend equally on the inhales.

Four years yesterday, Schuyler was rappelling down a water. Yesterday a day ago, Schuyler was walking in a robot suit. Equally breathtaking and miraculous yet very different twists in time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFVBkWssY7M&feature=youtu.be

Savor your life. Commit to living each moment fully engaged in life — even when it scares you, maddens you or reduces you to tears. “Fight” on for your fire, especially in those moments when you become the reluctant hero. Honor and respect your scars because they cry out that you are mightier than you might have once believed.

Mindset is when your desire to create a miracle is greater than your desire to walk away. So dance on. Love on. Live on.

Four years post boulder and we are still dancing along our own beautiful yet crazy path! Schuyler and I are just ordinary women but we are “fighters” — fighters for life at it’s most passionate and creative level. We invite you to celebrate this tiny amazing planet and these brief years that we get to play here by taking a moment to spread your arms wide. Savor the inhale. Savor the exhale and LIVE. Because when a boulder hits you, then and only then do you discover that maybe the sky is not the limit. What if your limits are just the beginning…?

xoxo Happy Living BOuLDER Day!

Meridith and Schuy!

P.S. Remember that if you want to support us and hear more about some of the BIG lessons that we have learned and insights that we have gained, be sure to catch me on the upcoming MOTHER DAUGHTER SUMMIT. It’s complimentary so sign up to get notified when our episode goes live: https://themotherdaughtersummit.com/mds-meriditha#MotherDaughterSummit