Growing Through Challenges
Two weekends ago, we took my son to his 1st mountain bike race of the season. He has really struggled in the past few months and had newly been given the role of Team Captain coming into his 3rd season and Junior year.
It was a moment for me, as his longtime advocate and champion, of witnessing him in his element feeling confident, excited, and empowered.
JV was the first race of the day, so we were up at the crack of down to get him to the course in time to warm up with the team and get ready. It was very chilly up in the high country and the trails were muddy from the previous evenings rain.
Long story short, Kai took a huge fall during the treacherous warm up course (in my humble opinion it was too much for that hour and those conditions!) and hurt his shoulder badly. He was very beaten up after flying over his handlebars and landing on his right side (big mama sigh here..).
As he sat in the medic tent crying, my heart broke. This was one thing in his life where he was feeling good about himself and in that flash of a moment, it disappeared.
My determined, stubborn, Taurean kid tried to ride through the pain, but needed to be driven off the course about a quarter into the ride.
Sad, frustrated, angry, disappointed, heartbroken, devastated, surrendered…. the whole gamut of emotions flooded us all in witnessing Kai navigate this moment and the moments in the aftermath.
This was a tremendous setback, yet I have felt his determination and strength bubbling through.
He is slowly finding his way back to the bike and even planning to race this weekend (all good vibes his way are so appreciated!).
Watching him summon the courage to get back in the saddle after such a fall has reminded me that while setbacks are never easy, they often carry profound medicine for the spirit.
His journey has also been a mirror for me, as I navigate my own healing from injury.
I write these words with my leg propped up… an ice pack wrapped around my ankle. An old injury—one that first appeared nearly thirty years ago—has re-emerged, pulling me inward into my own path of healing.
It is a humbling dance with limitation, discomfort, and the invitation to meet challenge with presence.
I watched Kai’s initial collapse in the face of his injury, and also the profound resilience that followed. I, too, am moving through that same terrain—navigating the layers of shock, pain, disappointment, frustration, and, ultimately, the slow unfolding into acceptance and trust.
As we were driving in the car the other day, culminating a couple of very hard days with life, injury, and sickness, he declared that he feels much better when he tells himself that he feels better. Ah ha!! The mind-body connection through the lens of a 16-year-old.
I replied YES (with perhaps a bit too much enthusiasm!), that is the foundation of my work! He nodded with a mutual moment of recognition.
So, as I continue to witness and support him in his recovery while nursing my own, I will be focusing on this reminder from my wise teenager.
The mind is a powerful tool and portal towards a deepening connection to our bodies, in whatever state they may be in.
What we focus on builds.
No matter what challenges we are faced with: physical, emotional, spiritual (or all of the above as they are never separate!), may we remember that we can use our minds to turn towards possibility or pain.
We can use our minds to turn towards wellness, towards healing, and towards power.
A little gem from the road of life for you this week…
Let us do what we must to stand tall, stay in alignment, and remain tethered—to our own hearts and to the communities that help us remember who we are.
I am always out here for support and connection. Please do not hesitate to reach out!
Take good care of yourselves and be kind to each other.