What goes up must come down
Follow the bouncing ball
After an illness or life tragedy, there is often the watch for how life will return to normal. Normal meaning exactly how life was prior to the event. It’s impossible of course since life changes in the slightest ways moment to moment. That gradual movement is not noticed as easily though. Bouncing back from disaster is seen as a marker of health or acceptance that life goes on. The real truth is understanding that life really needs to bounce forward endlessly. The past is not easily accessible. Time moves on, with or without us. The sudden leap can be jarring due to the unknown terrain but like children in a bouncy house, that sensation of being upended results in a drive to stand and repeat the experience. Returning to upright satisfies the human drive to keep going through hard times. The next experience benefits from the recovery of the last one. There is satisfaction in the actual feeling of bouncing that escapes childhood. Think back to how you felt when you passed a playground in your youth. Those longing looks to want to climb or swing as high as possible go somewhere as we grow up. Maybe there should be more playgrounds that cater to adults. Or at least to the idea that grownups should share their equipment with their parents and not leave them on the sidelines.
Take Five
Each week this year, read through the suggestions and see how they call out to you.
- Do you remember your favorite playground from your youth?
- Are you bouncing forward without going through a big event?
- Describe the comfort of knowing you will recover from everything life hands you.
- Did your reaction to anything lately make you want to bounce away?
- Can you persuade yourself to feel confident in your ability to bounce?
Come back each day to see if something changes about the effect of an activity. Repeat choices to identify different thoughts. You are not the same person every day. Your life shouldn’t be either.
Live Alive.
