I’m having a time of it lately. Major life changes, including prematurely quitting a job I (mostly) loved, moving out of my apartment, only to have an engagement end two months before the wedding, leaving me in a worse spot than before.

There have definitely been bright spots, but suffice it to say that I’m frustrated. And when I’m frustrated, I tend to shy away from some of the very good things.

And being in the air is one of the very good things.

(Hang with me, yo. I get a little deep here.)

Constant worrying about the future (which is stupid, because the future is just a thing that doesn’t even exist yet) has left me feeling guilty about doing things I enjoy. And again, that’s stupid.

I made myself take a corde lisse workshop put on by my amazingly talented friend. And only three weeks in, I love it. LOVE IT.

I walked in that night in a very bad mood. But aerial class makes you focus on exactly what your body is doing. You have to think, but instead of downward-spiral thinking, you think of how to make something work. Which way to move your body, how to balance yourself better, where exactly to put your leg to stay in the air. It forces you to focus on your physical self. I can’t think about the future, I have a rope to worry about. It’s empowering. Even the small stuff.

Hanging out with friends who also find joy in climbing and tying themselves in knots is therapeutic.

I walked out that night feeling relaxed and excited. And oh, how I’ve needed to feel relaxed and excited.

This is my reminder to myself not to back away when I get stressed out, but to throw myself in even deeper. You can’t control the stressful, stupid things in life. And worrying about it does no good. Having aerial as an outlet lets you remember how strong you are, how much you’ve learned, and gives you something to constantly be working towards, even when everything hits the fan.