The unrelenting pace of life has a way of pulling us along - often without our consent nor our ability to steer that course. Therefore, it seems, we have three choices: we can sit out, we can resist, or we can climb on (hang on) and make the most of the scenery (ie: living) as it flies by.
Sit out: It is virtually impossible (especially in this age of media-palooza) to escape from life - it seems to manage to find us at one point or another (or several). But there are those who consciously opt to sit on the sidelines and hope that if they stay very still life won't notice them that much and they will float along unscathed. I have seen these folks. They don't seem to be enjoying themselves and they inevitably do get sucked into the current (under-tow) of life and take on water at times. So that strategy doesn't seem to be working - nor sustainable.
Resist: There is a proclamation by the Borg in the Star Trek series that states “resistance is futile.” And more important, Mom used to say, it takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile. This actually isn't really true, but when I was young, I didn't have the resources (internet) nor the courage (moxie) to disagree. That said, life is long and patient, and eventually it will win out. Either it will grab you and pull you back down to earth with cruelty or humility. Or it will catch you when you are least expecting it (vulnerable and with your guard down) and flash the giggle of a toddler or the subtle smile of a wrinkled senior citizen's face, and remind you how simple yet glorious life can be. So mom was right, it generally takes more energy to fight life than to live within it ("smile").
Climb on: And so there is a choice for all of us to make - a conscious choice indeed. We can take the risk, roll the dice, dive into the deep end (or even wade into the shallow end) and seize the opportunity to enjoy the benefits (along with the acceptance of the ineluctable detriment). But we must agree to climb on and go along for the ride on the road of life. It almost never goes in a straight line, it rarely misses those sad or challenging stops waiting around the curve, and it def ain't easy. And you're just gonna have to trust me on this one -- the pros invariably outweigh the cons (even if it's only 51% pro and 49% con; the odds are most often better than that).
A year or so ago it was heavy con (con-cer) time for us. And now we've just enjoyed another "pro" right after a previous one. So I think the score is pretty good so far. I hope your tote board is equally tilted in favor of the home team. Go team Alex/Stephen.
