Circle of Life

It's funny how we always start back where we started.
When we're young, falling down means scraping your knees.
Then, as you get older, bruising doesn't only happen on the surface. Heartbreak, failure to meet expectations, etc. We're confronted with sometimes invisible forces that inescapably shape our lives. It's no longer about the physical wounds, but the marks that scar our lives for a long time to come.
But when we reach our senior years, maybe "getting up" isn't about climbing the corporate ladder anymore, and falling down really results from decreasing bone density and old age. Maybe when we've experienced all that life has to offer, we'll realize that we just want to be with the ones we love, to take a walk on a sunny day.
When I was running yesterday, I saw an old lady on the ground. She was a distance away from me and seemed to be trying to get up. She must've fallen down and was trying to get up. I ran towards her and asked if she was okay, and she smiled and said in korean: "kin cha na." I think that means it doesn't matter, she's okay? (this is where korean dramas come in handy haha). She didn't just get up. She really struggled to get up, and she tried to many times and failed. It just reminded me of how many times we fall down and how hard it is to get up, and how difficult it is to do it all with a smile. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and get up, just like she did.