Taking Off Cowboy Boots

Tonight I stood in a small dark venue and listened to a soulful singer. Many songs we listen to throughout our lives are connected to some of the happiest and saddest of memories. The singer sang a song that stirred so many emotions inside of me. I cried. It reminded me of a time when my heart was a little bit broken and my ideals of love became jaded, once again. I started to remember how I felt at that point in my life. How one person made me feel so good and then, suddenly, made me feel so bad. The song narrated a montage of memories for a short moment. But in the end... I was revived. 

I found myself standing back in the present, thinking about what I have now. What has left my life and what has walked into it. I think I read it in a book or heard it in a movie... 'You have to experience the bad moments, that way you can appreciate the good ones in the end.' It goes something like that. At this very time in my life, I am happy. I have a grand love. But I wouldn't appreciate it if I didn't take a few falls in the past. 

When I got home, I sat on the floor of my apartment. I stared at the cowboy shoes on my feet that I love so dearly. I struggled to take them off. I wanted them on so badly and now I wanted them off immediately. It took what felt like forever before they flew off my feet across the room. It felt amazing to finally be free of the boots. I laid back down on the floor and thought to myself, "That's how it feels." You've got to get through the struggle sometimes to feel good in the end. 

Whether it's a song or a pair of cowboy boots, you need to remember the past to feel great in the present.