Has there ever been a lesson in a show or movie that just resonated with you? Something that you find yourself thinking about during difficult moments? There were a few for me, but I didn’t think that I’d be adding Walk. Ride. Rodeo to that list or recommending it. One Saturday morning, I decided to watch this film, taking away from it more than I thought I would. Nearly a year later, I’m still reminded of these 4 life lessons from Netflix’s Walk Ride Rodeo, today I’m sharing those lessons with you, hoping they resonate with you, just like they did with me.
When the movie was released on Netflix, my first thought was that this was just going to be another inspirational movie, still, for some reason, I wanted to give it a chance.
This movie tells the story of Amberley Synder, a champion barrel racer that was paralyzed in a car accident. Through hard work and determination, she finds to back to her horse. Although this movie plays out like an inspirational story, I love it because it spends a good amount of time showing you the struggles and hard times. There are several of these types of movies these days that don’t or at the very least don’t show as much.
4 Life Lessons From Netflix’s Walk Ride Rodeo
“No Matter What Life Gives You Give More Back”
Life is going to knock you down sometimes, disability or not. However, when you get knocked down, get back up and keep going. It’s going to be harder at times than it is at others, you’ll sit there and wonder how in the world you’re going to keep moving without letting this thing get to you, but you’ll figure it out. Getting back up, moving on, doesn’t mean you don’t acknowledge the struggle and frustration, take a second a second to regroup, figure out your next move. Getting up means that you are determined to keep trying, to get to your goals, to find success and happiness in a way that works for you.
“This chair will either be your wings or it will be your anchor. You decide.”
This line was one of my favorites and something I try to remember during the difficult days of dealing with everything. This quote reminds me of this one from my childhood, a turning point I guess. I was having trouble doing something on my own and I was ready to give up. My mom sat me down and said “Okay, but you’ll never know unless you really try. You can sit here and be okay with it, but one day, everyone is going to be out there living their lives. What are you going to be doing? I understood what she was saying, even as young as I was.
Your disability is going to make certain things, if not most things difficult for you. You can either find ways to work around the problem to get where you want to go to the best of your ability, or you can let all the things you can’t do weigh you down. Some days, dealing with a disability is so difficult. I get it, but it’s part of you so figure out how to enjoy life with it. There are going to be some tough moments where you deal with a lack of access, people judging just on your disability, and more. There are times it will feel like an anchor and it’s okay to feel that at the moment at times but you need to make a choice as to whether you’re going to let your disability stop you from having fun and living your life.
We don’t always get to choose what happens to us, but we get to choose what we do next.”
This quote, although applied a different way in the movie, makes me think of all those times people were reacting to seeing my wheelchair. You never know how people are going to react, but you get to choose how you respond to what they do. I can’t say one thing or another here because we all have different comfort levels, just be sure that you respond in a way that works for you.
“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference. I realize maybe I won’t have control over every situation in my life. Maybe I don’t get to make every decision, But when I wake up in the morning, I get to decide my attitude and if that’s the only decision I get to make that day, I better make it a good one.”
This is my favorite quote from the movie. When you have a disability, there are a lot of things you can’t control no matter how much you wish you could. I love this quote because I wholeheartedly agree with it. There are going to be hard days when you feel the effects of your disability and that’s okay, but don’t take away happy moments, don’t let it have you taking out a bad moment on those trying to help you. The way in which you respond to the situations and people around matters, so with that in mind even on the tough days I try to focus on one thing that makes me happy because I know that it makes a difference in getting through the day, at least for me.
Netflix’s Walk Ride Rodeo is an inspirational story, there’s no doubt about that, but it’s also a movie that teaches you to keep moving forward. Life will knock you down over and over, but it’s important to keep getting up each time it does. For me, the moral of this movie was: Life has its ups and downs and there will be moments when it doesn’t go your way, how are you going to react when those times come?
Have you watched Walk Ride Rodeo on Netflix? If so, what did you think of it? Let me know in the comments below
~Kimberly
