Clichés in the Upside Down

Until You're Back on Your Feet

Some may look at my life and argue that I was never truly on my feet –I guess living in a trailer can create that kind of assumption. And maybe it’s true –maybe I simply stumbled out of my parents’ house, and it’s taken me years to realize that I was heading toward an inevitable face-plant. I don’t see it that way, though; it’s the exact opposite, for me.

Don’t get me wrong… there are times when I feel like a flailing loser; especially in the last few weeks. I thought that I was just going with the flow and rolling with the punches; but I’ve been able to take a step back and realize that the flow had been pushing me, and the punches simply pounding. Some challenges roll off of me, like water on a duck’s back, and other’s pull me under, like concrete shoes.

"The secrets to life are hidden behind the word: cliché."

I heard this quote when I was a child, and it’s always stuck with me. In recent years, as I’ve accepted the label of writer, I’ve thought more about those words, and what they truly mean. Of course, Shay was trying to say that those simple, common phrases actually hold deep meaning, and could potentially answer the questions we have about life. And I want to take it a step further.

It seems that we’re living in the Upside Down –the truth is boring, and deception is innovative. Clichés have become so common, they’re brushed off with a groan and an eye roll, instead of the love and attention these words are calling for.

We, as a collective, are more likely to be angered by a statement like, “Happiness is a choice,” instead of feeling empowered by our ability to regulate our emotions. We forget that “Laughter is the best medicine,” and “Time heals all wounds,” because we’re constantly choosing fear instead of love, and ignoring the only stable fact of life: time.

We’re going against the grain of our very nature, and ignoring the knowledge that we ourselves created. We’ve even reached a point, I believe, where we’ve completely forgotten the true meaning to these seemingly-ancient sayings.

"You can stay with us, until you get back on your feet."

I’m sure we could easily come to some kind of consensus for what this cliché means: “You’re welcome to live with us while you get your life together and work to become independent, again.” And I’m sure we could even agree that this usually involves money, “I’m staying with my parents until I get back on my feet,” actually equals, “…until I have enough money to support myself.” And sometimes it can even be an emotional thing, “I caught my boyfriend cheating, so I’m staying with my sister until we can get back on our feet.”

Within this definition, I am nowhere to be seen –you have to have your shit together first. So with this in mind, there’s another explanation that fits this old saying, and it seems to define me even better.

But first, I have to ask: If I need to get back on my feet, does that mean I was on my knees?

"I'd rather die on my feet than live on my knees."

When my parents said, “You can stay with us until you’re back on your feet,” I felt a little defeated. It felt like a confirmation that my life was in shambles, and that all anyone could see was a sad woman, unable to stand on her own two feet.

I view it differently now, though. You see, when everyone else thought I was stumbling out of my parents' house and into my boyfriend’s trailer, I was actually rising from my knees to stand on my feet.

I was rising from comfortable submission, to confident independence.

Sometimes, I still stumble –who wouldn’t?! We’re in a time where we can carry nothing on our shoulders while living on our knees; or we can carry the weight of the future, while standing firm on our own two feet. It’s a lot easier to allow someone else to carry our baggage while we crawl through life; but I’d rather release my baggage and strengthen my body by carrying my beliefs close to my heart.

It can be heavy sometimes, to carry my beliefs as a part of me; but if I put them down and allow someone else to hold my morality, I’ll have lost a part of who I am.

I will live on my feet, and I will die on my feet; you will never bring me down to my knees.

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