I’m a reality TV fan.
When I have time to watch something, I am often drawn to reality TV shows.
I'm not without discernment though.
I don't enjoy watching random people just living their lives.
And not the REALLY bad ones.
It has to be produced and edited well, and it must have a goal.
I am a total sucker for watching a group of people striving for a particular goal.
I don’t really care what the goal is - glass blowing, make-up, learning to be a pop star, losing weight, baking cakes, master cheffing…
It’s all delicious to me.
My various family members just shake their heads and laugh in disbelief when they catch me watching one of these shows.
I’ve been known to throw my arms over the screen in embarrassment and shriek, “Don’t judge me!”
I also find it hilarious that this is my visual fodder of choice.
I’ve been wondering what draws me to it though...
You see, the things we are drawn to tend to offer us some quality, or learning we need.
Like when you crave a food because you’re needing a certain vitamin.
They are medicine for us.
So what is it about these shows, I asked myself, that is medicine for me?
Well, I think it has to do with the human spirit.
I’m a lover of humans.
I know we are flawed but what I love and admire about us humans, is our sheer grit and determination.
Humans are like those flowers you see growing through a pavement.
It’s a hard, immovable surface…
And yet…
Somehow that little seed manages to find a crack, take root and grow anyway.
Against all odds.
The human ability to grow and flower against all odds is fascinating to me.
We turn towards growth and love and hope even after we’ve been hurt and broken.
I think it’s magical.
We are awesome.
I mean, the times we are trying to flower in cement can feel really awful, but there is so much beauty and satisfaction in striving for something.
There is pleasure in just trying.
There is joy in simply turning towards hope.
The human spirit is beautiful to me.
So I love to watch a group of individuals striving to overcome challenges and face their own difficulties.
As I watch them be so brave, so vulnerable about their hopes and dreams, and then get harsh feedback, get voted out..
Realise they were chosen, or rejected…
That they achieved their dream, or lost it…
I am inspired.
I am strengthened.
I am uplifted.
I gain courage.
From them, I've learned it’s ok to really want something unapologetically.
Because there they are, doing it.
It’s ok for me to strive for my own dreams and face setbacks, rejection and failure.
Because there they are, surviving it.
It’s ok for me to be seen.
Because there they are, lovable in all their flawed and wonderful glory.
We all receive medicine from seeing others be brave.
It helps us dare too.
If you loved yourself, what would you say to yourself about your own beautiful striving now?
