Unstoppable used to be a word that seemed fictional. I mean, let’s be real for a minute here – there are many things that stop us in our tracks. The idea of unstoppable, though, has shifted over time. It no longer congers up images of indestructible Avenger-like hero-esc strength. It doesn’t feel like man-of-steel, bullet-proof living. This shift in understanding of what it truly means to be unstoppable has become something more, and in reality, something so much better.
Unstoppable may masquerade as an adjective, but it is really a verb. Unstoppable is a choice to continue to step forward over and over again, even after innumerable setbacks. Unstoppable is love that doesn’t back down or give up. Unstoppable is a smile in the midst of darkness, a selfless act, a choice to keep living in the light.
Unstoppable is also not solitary. When those who we might label as unstoppable flash through our minds, they are always a part of something bigger. These individuals are surrounded or motivated by others who give them the strength and resolve to continue. They are unstoppable for their families, alongside friends, in solidarity with their brothers or sisters, and among the ranks of those who have gone before or are fighting the same battles they are.
Right now, we are watching nurses and doctors who refuse to give up or give in. We are watching teachers, and counselors, and social workers, and food service workers, and delivery workers, and truckers, and those who are embracing what we need to do to get through this difficult time.
They are unstoppable. Not because of who they are as individuals, as special and unique and important as that is, but because of their willingness to jump into it all together.
Today, reflecting on the idea of being unstoppable is teaching us how vulnerable of a word it truly is. How collaborative of a word. How important a concept. It isn’t about perfection or invincibility. No.
It is about the fact that together we are unstoppable. Not because we don’t have failures or doubts. We are unstoppable because we will continue on despite them – together.
Happily in Progress 