A Forced Grounding; When Life Literally Knocks You to the Ground

Ever had one of those days where you just stand there at the end of it and think, “Well… that just happened.”

It was like the merging of the upside down world in Stranger Things meets Sex in the City, but instead, my Carrie Bradshaw moment was a Stack in the City.

I was heading back to the train station, walking up a fairly steep street, completely present, completely aware, not rushing, not distracted, not on my phone, not lost in music. Just walking. There was a set of stairs built into the hill — uneven because of the slope. Said stairs are pictured. My right foot landed on the first step just fine, that flatter part you can see. Then as I lifted my left foot to step up, it caught the lip of the uneven stair… and down I went. Hard.

Face plant. All fours. Full impact on my left side. My wrist. My shoulder. My hand. My knee smashed into the step. My ankle caught the corner of the stair above it and split open. And of course, the hand with arthritis in my fingers took the hit — so today those fingers are swollen and stubborn and painful.

I remember yelling out, “Oh shit!” more out of shock than anything.

And not one person stopped.

Not one.

No “Are you okay?”
No hand offered.
No pause.
Nothing.

People just walked straight past me.

I jumped up — pure embarrassment driving my body. I didn’t even check myself properly until I’d walked further up the street, away from the audience that had already decided I wasn’t worth stopping for. I could feel my elbow stinging. Yep — scraped. Then I looked down. White jeans. Of course I wore white. Big dirty city smear across my knee. The ankle was throbbing but I wouldn’t even look at it yet. I just kept walking, pretending everything was fine.

And as I walked, the shock hit. Not just physically… but energetically.

I was present.
I was aware.
And still, life took me out at the knees.

Then the second act of the day arrived.

I reached the station. Went to tap on with my Opal card — which I knew had money on it because I’d checked earlier — and… declined. Locked out. Barrier wouldn’t open. In that moment, the embarrassment hit again. That same feeling of being seen, judged, exposed. The thought of “What are people thinking?” flooded in. I fumbled around for another card, finally found one, and got through — but inside I felt shaken.

For a moment, I didn’t even know how I was going to get home.

And that’s when it landed… how quickly this digital world can just cut us off. One tap. One decline. One system glitch. And suddenly you’re stranded.

Even the guard standing nearby never checked in. Didn’t ask if I needed help. Didn’t ask if I was alright after struggling at the gate. Just watched.

And that awareness hit deep.

The lack of empathy.
The lack of human connection.
The walking past.
The not seeing.
The not feeling.

Later that night, I joked that I should honestly journal all these moments and write a book called Melissa’s Series of Unfortunate Events. Because sometimes it really does feel literal. Yesterday wasn’t metaphorical grounding… it was forced grounding. Smack to the earth. A full-body reminder to slow down and feel.

And this morning, as my body reminded me of every impact point, I sat with the spiritual layers.

Because of course… there are layers.

The stopping.
The forced grounding.
The shock to the system.
The fear of public judgement.
The awareness of how disconnected humanity can be and the lack of empathy.

Yesterday showed me how quickly we move past one another.
How uncomfortable people are with vulnerability.
How fast the world keeps walking when someone falls right in front of them.
And how much courage it still takes to be seen in our most vulnerable moments.

And maybe that was the point.

A reminder that grounding isn’t always gentle.
Sometimes it’s a crash.
Sometimes it’s messy.
Sometimes it hurts.
Sometimes it embarrasses us.
But it always brings awareness.

So yes… today I’m sore.
Yes… I’m swollen.
Yes… my ankle looks like it went ten rounds with a brick.
But I’m also awake to how powerful these micro-moments really are.

Life doesn’t always whisper.

Sometimes she shoves you flat into the concrete and says,
“Feel this. Learn this. See this.”

And ohhhh… did I see it.

Rocky was right;

“It ain’t about how hard you hit.
It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.
How much you can take and keep moving forward.
That’s how winning is done.”

It’s not about how many times you fall, it’s about how many times you get back up. But fingers crossed I don’t actually fall again …because I don’t bounce like I used too…